Effectiveness of Covers and Liners Made of Red Mud Bauxite and/or Cement Kiln Dust for Limiting Acid Mine Drainage
Publication: Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 131, Issue 8
Abstract
This paper presents a laboratory investigation to evaluate the capacity of alkaline residues to inhibit acid mine drainage. Column tests were used to evaluate the geochemical behavior of cement kiln dust (CKD) and red mud bauxite (RMB) used as covers, liners, or mixed with acid producing tailings and waste rocks. The most important indicators of neutralization are pH and the concentrations of metals in solution. Initial leachate pH of samples with an alkaline cover composed of 10% CKD or 10% of a mixture of CKD and RMB was low, but rapidly increased to near 7.0 and stabilized for the duration of this study. The use of alkaline materials as a liner had a positive effect on the reduction of Fe, and other metals such as Cu and Zn concentrations and the number of viable bacteria. In the cases where the alkaline layer was used as a liner or mixed with the waste rocks, near neutral pH values were rapidly reached in the leachate. However, in these columns the leachate pH values decreased over time.
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Acknowledgment
This study has been supported by the National Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC).
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Information
Published In
Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 131 • Issue 8 • August 2005
Pages: 1230 - 1235
Copyright
© 2005 ASCE.
History
Received: Oct 7, 2003
Accepted: Nov 15, 2004
Published online: Aug 1, 2005
Published in print: Aug 2005
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