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DEMONSTRATION OF AN INTEGRATED, PASSIVE BIOLOGICAL TREATMENT PROCESS FOR AMD
Citation:
Bless*, D R. AND S. Nordwick. DEMONSTRATION OF AN INTEGRATED, PASSIVE BIOLOGICAL TREATMENT PROCESS FOR AMD. Presented at Hardrock Mining 2002 Conference - Issues Shaping the Industry, Westminster, Colorado, 05/7-9/2002.
Description:
An innovative, cost-effective, biological treatment process has been designed by MSE Technology Applications, Inc. to treat acid mine drainage (AMD). A pilot-scale demonstration is being conducted under the Mine Waste Technology Program using water flowing from an abandoned mine in Western Montana. When demonstration is successful, this process can be employed at numerous abandoned mines, which discharge AMD, an acidic, metal-contaminated water. Conventional treatment methods are costly and many times impossible to use at remote locations. MSE's technology uses a series of biological systems to clear up AMD. The integrated, passive biological treatment process utilizes nonpathogenic bacteria, which are able to neutralize acidic mine water and remove contained toxic metals. These bacteria live within a series of pit-type reactors constructed in the ground outside the mine. This presentation will show that this technology offers a comprehensive, cost-effective. natural cleanup method for the nation's numerous abandoned mines.