Performance of Mixed Organic Substrates during Treatment of Acidic and Moderate Mine Drainage in Column Bioreactors
Publication: Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 138, Issue 10
Abstract
Mushroom compost, wood chips, sawdust, cow manure, and rice straw were characterized and tested in three combinations as prospective substrates during the treatment of acidic (pH 3) and moderate (pH 6) mine drainage in 3.5 L column bioreactors operated for 167 days, at 3 days of hydraulic retention time. Mixtures gave comparable performances in each pH condition with satisfactory efficiencies. After less than a 2-week acclimation period, bacteria became active, as indicated by a pH increase and sulfide production. Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) consumption was higher in acidic condition, whereas sulfate removal mainly occurred in the early reaction period. There were significant differences in the sulfate and DOC results from acidic relative to moderate mine drainage columns. Aluminum was readily removed (nearly 100%) by all the reactors. Iron removal was better for acidic (98–99%) than for moderate (73–85%) mine drainage. Manganese, mostly leached out from substrate materials, prevailed in early reaction times, followed by a steady decrease toward the end. Results demonstrate the potential utility of mixed substrates for enhancing the performances of bioreactors for mine drainage treatment. However, longer lasting times of DOC would characterize the moderate mine drainage condition.
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Acknowledgments
This work was supported, in part, by the Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources (KIGAM) annual research fund (project 10-3411) and, in part, by the Mine Reclamation Corporation Research Foundation (project 10-5315). Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the funding agencies. The authors gratefully acknowledge the assistance of the Ph.D. candidate Taewoon Hwang at KAIST during the preparation of this manuscript.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 138 • Issue 10 • October 2012
Pages: 1077 - 1084
Copyright
© 2012 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jun 9, 2011
Accepted: Mar 8, 2012
Published online: Sep 14, 2012
Published in print: Oct 1, 2012
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