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Evaluating Technologies for Mining-Influenced Water (MIW) Treatment: Information and Data Needs
Citation:
Butler, Barbara A. AND Michele K. Mahoney. Evaluating Technologies for Mining-Influenced Water (MIW) Treatment: Information and Data Needs. 2023 National Meeting of the American Society of Reclamation Sciences, Boise, ID, June 04 - 07, 2023.
Impact/Purpose:
Mining influenced water (MIW) is a common issue at Superfund mining sites and abandoned mines. Remediation practitioners commonly seek information on treatment technologies from case studies published in various literature sources to understand whether a given technology would be applicable to their site. A recently published report from OLEM and ORD found that published studies do not always have sufficient information for evaluating transferability of a given technology. This poster will present what details are needed by practitioners regarding both technologies and site specific characteristics and why different pieces of information are important. The information to be presented will be useful to researchers who conduct case studies of treatment technologies for MIW and to practioners to allow for better assessment of transferability of technologies to sites other than those where the study was conducted.
Description:
Numerous technologies are available for treatment of mining-influenced water (MIW) at abandoned mining sites. Case studies examining both established and recently developed technologies for treating MIW are reported in conference proceedings, reports, or journal articles. Studies range in terms of size, duration, and purpose, from bench-scale proof-of-concept testing to field pilot-scale testing conducted over a few months to years-long, full-scale field deployments. In evaluating whether a treatment is suitable for a site requiring remediation, data and information from case studies are examined, including what elements are treatable, the efficiency of the treatment, the concentrations and flows able to be treated, the volume of waste material generated, waste disposal requirements, necessary site requirements (e.g., land space required, available energy source) and costs. In examining various technologies across case studies documenting performance for six months or more in field-scale systems treating MIW from hardrock mining sites, the level of detail reported for some technologies was found to be inadequate for determining its use and transferability to a site different from the locations where the case studies were conducted. Information and data deemed necessary to be reported from case studies will be discussed along with how such data and information contribute to assessing technology transferability.