Sulfur dynamics in an impoundment receiving acid mine drainage

Thesis/Dissertation · Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1987

OSTI ID:5266645

Herlihy, A T

To quantify the importance of bacterial sulfate reduction (SR) in an acidified system, a sulfate influx-efflux budget was constructed for Lake Anna, an impoundment receiving acid mine drainage. Forty eight percent of the entering sulfate was removed from the water column within the 2 km arm of the lake that receives the pollution. Directly measured SR equaled 200% of the sulfate removal calculated in the budget. Thus, sulfide oxidation must be an important process in these sediments. The calculated alkalinity generated by sulfate removal was more than twice that necessary to account for the observed pH increase in the impoundment. Inorganic sulfur concentrations in the sediments of the impacted arm of Lake Anna were significantly greater than those in unpolluted sections of the lake. Label experiments showed that FeS and elemental sulfur (S{degree}) were the major products of SR in the impacted sediments. Inorganic sulfur (FeS, S{degree}, and pyrite) made up to 60% to 100% of the total sediment sulfur concentration. Pyrite concentrations were high and decreased exponentially with distance from the AMD source, indicating that the pyrite is stream detrius. FeS and S{degree} concentrations were highest at a station 1 km away from the AMD inflow, indicating in situ formation. There was no evidence for the formation of organic sulfur species.

• Research Organization: Virginia Univ., Charlottesville, VA (USA)
• OSTI ID: 5266645
• Resource Relation: Other Information: Thesis (Ph. D.)
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
LAKES
ACIDIFICATION
SULFATES
BIODEGRADATION
ACID MINE DRAINAGE
ECOLOGICAL CONCENTRATION
PYRITE
SEDIMENTS
SULFATE-REDUCING BACTERIA
WATER POLLUTION
BACTERIA
CHALCOGENIDES
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
DECOMPOSITION
IRON COMPOUNDS
IRON SULFIDES
MICROORGANISMS
MINERALS
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
POLLUTION
SULFIDE MINERALS
SULFIDES
SULFUR COMPOUNDS
SURFACE WATERS
TRANSITION ELEMENT COMPOUNDS
540320* - Environment
Aquatic- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport- (1990-)
560300 - Chemicals Metabolism & Toxicology