Abstract |
The Norton Mine Drainage Field Site of the Federal Water Quality Administration has been conducting research on the feasibility of acid mine drainage treatment using lime, limestone, and soda ash neutralization. The Norton research facility is located at Norton, West Virginia, on the banks of Grassy Run--a small, heavily polluted stream of which an estimated 90% of the water flow is from abandoned mines. Tests were run on identical samples of Grassy Run water to determine the quality of the supernatant when the sample was neutralized to various pH's. Lime, limestone, and soda ash were each tested as the neutralizing agents. All 3 neutralizing agents--lime, limestone, and soda ash--can meet the pH 6.5, net alkalinity, iron below 7.0 ppm criteria with relative ease. The major differences between soda ash neutralization and lime or limestone neutralization are that soda ash produces low hardness, low calcium, high sodium, and high cost, whereas all other chemical parameters are comparable between the 3 neutralizing agents. (WRSIC abstract) |