Effect of Water Addition Frequency on Oxygen Consumption in Acid Generating Waste Rock
Publication: Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 136, Issue 7
Abstract
The oxygen decay coefficient is a key parameter used to predict the distribution of oxygen concentrations spatially and temporally in a waste rock pile. The present study proposes a new equation to calculate the oxygen decay coefficient based on the oxidation rate (sulfate release rate) of the waste rock, dry density, and equivalent porosity for oxygen transport. The equation gave oxygen decay coefficients that were of the same order of magnitude as those obtained from a semianalytic solution to the modified Fick’s law with an oxygen consumption term. Values were in the range of for air dry waste rock and for moist waste rock. The effect of water addition frequency on the oxidation rate and the oxygen decay coefficient was investigated through four column experiments with various flushing rates and a laboratory case simulating actual precipitation at a specific site. The results indicated that the oxygen decay coefficient was dependent on not only the oxidation rate but also on the physical characteristics of the waste rock, such as porosity and dry density. The flushing rate had a significant influence on the oxidation rate of the waste rock and the calculated oxygen decay coefficient. The oxidation rate of the waste rock decreased from to with an increase in flushing intervals from 1 week to 4 weeks. When the drying period was longer than 3 weeks, the oxidation rate decreased very slowly with an increase in drying period for the tested waste rock.
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Acknowledgments
This work has been funded by a Discovery Grant from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada grant awarded to E. K. Yanful. The writers are grateful to Ron Kennedy of Mattabi Mines Limited for providing the waste rock samples.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 136 • Issue 7 • July 2010
Pages: 691 - 700
Copyright
© 2010 ASCE.
History
Received: Mar 1, 2009
Accepted: Dec 15, 2009
Published online: Dec 18, 2009
Published in print: Jul 2010
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