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Eger, P. (1994). Wetland Treatment for Trace-metal Removal from Mine Drainage – the Importance of Aerobic and Anaerobic Processes. Water Sci. Technol., 29(4), 249–256.
Abstract: When designing wetland treatment systems for trace metal removal, both aerobic and anaerobic processes can be incorporated into the final design. Aerobic processes such as adsorption and ion exchange can successfully treat neutral drainage in overlandflow systems. Acid drainage can be treated in anaerobic systems as a result of sulfate reduction processes which neutralize pH and precipitate metals.Test work on both aerobic and anaerobic systems has been conducted in Minnesota. For the past three years, overland flow test systems have successfully removed copper, cobalt, nickel and zinc from neutral mine drainage. Nickel, which is the major contaminant, has been reduced around 90 percent from 2 mg/L to 0.2 mg/L. A sulfate reduction system has successfully treated acid mine drainage for two years, increasing pH from 5 to over 7 and reducing concentrations of all metals by over 90 percent.Important factors to consider when designing wetlands to remove trace metals include not only the type of wetlandrequired but also the size of the system and the residence time needed to achieve the water quality standards.
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Gerth, A., & Kießig, G. (2001). (A. Leeson, Ed.). Phytoremediation, wetlands and sediments. (6)5: Battelle Press.
Abstract: Treatment of radioactively-contaminated and metal-laden mine waters and of seepage fiom tailings ponds and waste rock piles is among the key issues facing WISMUT GmbH in their task to remediate the legacy of uranium mining and processing in the Free States of saxony and rhuringia, Federal Republic of Germany. Generally, contaminant loads of feed waters wn aimnisn over time. At a certain level of costs for the removal of one contaminant unit, continued operation of conventional water treatment plants can hardly be justified any longer. As treatment is still required for water protection, there is an urgent need for-the development and implementation of more cost efficient technologies. WISMUT GmbH and BioPlanta GmbH have studied the suitability of helophye species for contaminant removal from mine waters. In a fust step, original waters were used for an in vitro bioassay. The test results allowed for the determination of the effects of biotic and abiotic factors on helophy'tes'tolerancer ange, growth, and uptake capability of radionuclides and metals. Test series were carried out using Phiagmites australis, Carex disticha, Typha latifolia, and Juncus effusus. Relevant cont-aminant components of the mine waters under investigation included uraniunl iron, arsenic, manganese, nickel, and copper. Investigations led to a number of recommendations conceming plant selection for specific water treatment needs. In a second step, based on these results, a constructed wetland was built in l99g as a pilot plant for the treatment of flood waters liom the pöhla-Tellerhäuser mine and went on-line. Relevant constituents of the neutral flood waters include radium, iron, and arsenic. This wetland specifically uses both physico-chemical and microbiological processes as well as contaminant accumulation by helophytes to achieve the treatment objectives. with the pilot plant in operation for three years now, average removal rates achieved are 95 Yo for kon, 86 yo for arsenic, and 75 % for raäium. WISMUT GmbH intends to put a number of other projects of passive/biological mine water treatment into operation before the end of 2001_
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