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Chemical and Microbiological Treatment of Acid Mine Drainage for the Removal of Iron and Acidity
EPA Grant Number: U914731Title: Chemical and Microbiological Treatment of Acid Mine Drainage for the Removal of Iron and Acidity
Investigators: Diz, Harry R.
Institution: Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
EPA Project Officer: Broadway, Virginia
Project Period: January 1, 1995 through January 1, 1996
Project Amount: $102,000
RFA: STAR Graduate Fellowships (1995)
Research Category: Fellowship - Waste Treatment , Hazardous Waste/Remediation , Academic Fellowships
Description:
Objective:The main objective of this research project is to implement the design of a process (patent pending) to remove iron from acid mine drainage (AMD) without the formation of metal hydroxide sludge.
Approach:The system includes the oxidation of ferrous iron in a packed bed bioreactor, the precipitation of iron within a fluidized bed, the removal of manganese and heavy metals (Cu, Ni, Zn) in a trickling filter at high (> 9) pH, with final neutralization in a carbonate bed. This technique avoids the generation of iron oxyhydroxide sludge. Heavy metals were removed both in the fluidized bed reactor as well as in the trickling filter. Oxidation at pH > 9 caused manganese to precipitate (96 percent removal); removals of copper, nickel, and zinc were due primarily to sorption onto oxide surfaces. Removals averaged 97 percent for copper, 70 percent for nickel, and 94 percent for zinc. The treatment strategy produced an effluent relatively free of iron (< 3 mg/L), without the formation of iron sludge and may be suitable for AMD seeps, drainage from acidic tailings ponds, active mine effluent, and acidic iron-rich industrial wastewater.
Supplemental Keywords:fellowship, heavy metals, effluent, acid mine drainage, AMD, wastewater, iron, sludge, oxidation, iron removal, metal hydroxide sludge, bioreactor, manganese, copper, nickel, zinc, Mn, Cu, Ni, Zn, trickling filter. , Industry Sectors, POLLUTANTS/TOXICS, INDUSTRY, Water, INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION, TREATMENT/CONTROL, Scientific Discipline, Waste, RFA, Remediation, Geology, Waste Treatment, Industrial Processes, Ecological Risk Assessment, Chemicals, Hazardous Waste, Environmental Engineering, Contaminated Sediments, Hazardous, Mining - NAIC 21, Ecology and Ecosystems, heavy metals, risk assessment, runoff, treatment, mining impacted watershed, contaminated waste sites, mining, mining wastes, stream ecosystems, acid mine runoff, suspended sediment, acid mine drainage, groundwater, metal removal, remediation technologies, contaminant transport, natural organic matter, aquatic ecosystems