You are here:
Treatment Technologies for Mining-Influenced Water
Citation:
Hart, E., J. Manikoff, A. Molly, Barbara A. Butler, AND B. Dyson. Treatment Technologies for Mining-Influenced Water. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, EPA/600/R-25/190, 2025.
Impact/Purpose:
In collaborating with OLEM to develop the 2020 USEPA report on technologies used at mining waste sites (EPA 542-R-20-002), we found that detailed performance data in publicly available literature (journal articles, published reports, and conference papers) on treatment technologies for mining- influenced water (MIW) and mining wastes is limited. Deficiencies in the data prevented definitive assessment of whether a given technology would be transferrable to a different site and result in similar success. Several reviewers of that report noted that many technologies tested at mining sites over the years by both EPA and other federal agencies were not captured; this is because the studies noted are not published and therefore were not captured in the literature search. It was therefore of interest to compile this data to assist OLEM and RPMs in determining what technologies have been tested, how they performed, longevity of performance, and the details that influenced performance to enable decisions for a technology's use or exclusion of use at other sites. The purpose of this project was to find and compile unpublished or non-peer-reviewed data and information on technologies that had been tested or used to MIW that had not been included in the 2020 report and to report on how those technologies performed and provide information on limitations that influenced performance. The report is not a critical review of the studies, and no opinions or analysis was included outside of percent removal efficiencies and statements of performance made by the authors of the unpublished reports used. The resultant report includes an Appendix that contains data for all elements each technology performance study analyzed. The intention is that the information contained in the report and the Appendix may contribute to knowledge about these technologies to support decisions about whether a particular treatment technology could be applied at other sites with similar results or is worthy of investigation for that purpose.
Description:
A report will be developed to contain performance data and site-specific details regarding treatment technologies tested at several Superfund and AML mining sites. For each site, the report will include the site name, location, MIW type treated(groundwater, surface water, mine drainage), specific elements treated, flows treated, concentrations of elements treated and corresponding concentration in effluent for each element, length of pilot test and expectations of longevity, and other design and performance details.