Grantee Research Project Results
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 Tech
EPA Project Officer: Hahn, Intaek
Project Period: January 1, 1995 through January 1, 1996
Project Amount: $102,000
RFA: STAR Graduate Fellowships (1995) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Fellowship - Waste Treatment , Hazardous Waste/Remediation , Academic Fellowships
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., RFA, Industry Sectors, Scientific Discipline, INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION, Waste, Water, INDUSTRY, TREATMENT/CONTROL, POLLUTANTS/TOXICS, Waste Treatment, Contaminated Sediments, Remediation, Mining - NAIC 21, Chemicals, Hazardous Waste, Industrial Processes, Ecology and Ecosystems, Ecological Risk Assessment, Environmental Engineering, Hazardous, Geology, risk assessment, contaminant transport, contaminated waste sites, suspended sediment, runoff, sediment transport, stream ecosystems, acid mine drainage, remediation technologies, natural organic matter, mining, treatment, aquatic ecosystems, groundwater, heavy metals, mining impacted watershed, mining wastes, acid mine runoffProgress and Final Reports:
The perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.