Tarutis Jr, W. J., Stark, L. R., & Williams, F. M. (1999). Sizing and performance estimation of coal mine drainage wetlands. Ecological Engineering, 12(3-4), 353–372.
Abstract: The effectiveness of wetland treatment of acid mine drainage (AMD) was assessed using three measures of performance: treatment efficiency, area-adjusted removal, and first-order removal. Mathematical relationships between these measures were derived from simple kinetic equations. Area-adjusted removal is independent of pollutant concentration (zero-order reaction kinetics), while first-order removal is dependent on concentration. Treatment efficiency is linearly related to area-adjusted removal and exponentially related to first-order removal at constant hydraulic loading rates (flow/area). Examination of previously published data from 35 natural AMD wetlands revealed that statistically significant correlations exist between several of the performance measures for both iron and manganese removal, but these correlations are potentially spurious because these measures are derived from, and are mathematical rearrangements of, the same operating data. The use of treatment efficiency as a measure of performance between wetlands is not recommended because it is a relative measure that does not account for influent concentration differences. Area-adjusted removal accounts for mass loading effects, but it fails to separate the flow and concentration components, which is necessary if removal is first-order. Available empirical evidence suggests that AMD pollutant removal is better described by first-order kinetics. If removal is first-order, the use of area-adjusted rates for determining the wetland area required for treating relatively low pollutant concentrations will result in undersized wetlands. The effects of concentration and flow rate on wetland area predictions for constant influent loading rates also depend on the kinetics of pollutant removal. If removal is zero-order, the wetland area required to treat a discharge to meet some target effluent concentration is a decreasing linear function of influent concentration (and an inverse function of flow rate). However, if removal is first-order, the required wetland area is a non-linear function of the relative influent concentration. Further research is needed for developing accurate first-order rate constants as a function of influent water chemistry and ecosystem characteristics in order to successfully apply the first-order removal model to the design of more effective AMD wetland treatment systems.
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Greben, H. A., Matshusa, M. P., & Maree, J. P. (2005). (J. Loredo, & F. Pendás, Eds.). Mine Water 2005 – Mine Closure. Oviedo: University of Oviedo.
Abstract: Mining is implicated as a significant contributor to water pollution, the prime reason being, that pyrites oxidize to sulphuric acid when exposed to air and water. Mine effluents, often containing sulphate, acidity and metals, should be treated to render it suitable for re-use in the mining industry, for irrigation of crops or for discharge in water bodies. This study describes the removal of all three mentioned pollutants in mine effluents, from different origins, containing different concentrations of various metals. The objectives were achieved, applying the biological sulphate removal technology, using ethanol as the carbon and energy source. It was shown that diluting the mine effluent with the effluent from the biological treatment, the pH increased due to the alkalinity in the treated water while the metals precipitated with the produced sulphide. When this treatment regime was changed and the mine water was fed undiluted, it was found that the metals stimulated the methanogenic bacteria (MB) as trace elements. This resulted in a high COD utilization of the MB, such that too little COD was available for the SRB. Metal removal in all three studies was observed and in most instances the metals were eliminated to the required disposal concentration.
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Walton-Day, K. (2003). (R. Raeside, Ed.). Short Course Series Volume. 31: Mineralogical Association of Canada.
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Konieczny, K. (2003). Mining waters treatment for drinking and economic aims. VI National Polish Scientific Conference on Complex and Detailed Problems of Environmental Engineering, 21, 333–348.
Abstract: Poland is comparatively a poor country in relation to resources of drinking water. In count per capita it is oil one of the last places in Europe. Such state forces to save resources for example by closing water circulations and also desalination of mining waters.
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Dill, S., Cowan, J., Wood, A., & Bowell, R. J. (1998). (L. Nel Petrus Johannes, Ed.). Mine Water and Environmental Impacts. 2: Proceedings International Mine Water Association Symposium.
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