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: Hazardous Waste/Remediation , Fellowship - Waste Treatment , 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, Scientific Discipline, Industry Sectors, INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION, TREATMENT/CONTROL, INDUSTRY, Waste, Water, POLLUTANTS/TOXICS, Hazardous, Remediation, Ecological Risk Assessment, Waste Treatment, Industrial Processes, Contaminated Sediments, Hazardous Waste, Geology, Mining - NAIC 21, Chemicals, Ecology and Ecosystems, Environmental Engineering, contaminant transport, heavy metals, stream ecosystems, metal removal, acid mine drainage, mining, mining impacted watershed, treatment, suspended sediment, mining wastes, risk assessment, natural organic matter, acid mine runoff, remediation technologies, groundwater, sediment transport, aquatic ecosystems, contaminated waste sitesProgress 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.