Nitrification-Denitrification of Thiocyanate, Ammonia, and Nitrates in Highly Contaminated Gold Mine Effluents Using Methanol as Energy Source
Publication: Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 144, Issue 5
Abstract
Chemical technologies efficiently remove cyanide from wastewater, but only marginally degrade thiocyanate (); they also produce ammonia nitrogen () and nitrates (), which require complementary treatment. Biological nitrification-denitrification is environmentally friendly and of low cost, but little is known about the treatment efficiency for highly contaminated gold mine effluents. This study assesses the performance of a nitrification-denitrification pilot-scale system using methanol as an energy source. A gold mine effluent is sampled at the inlet of an operating treatment plant. The effluent is alkaline (pH 7.5–8.4) and contains high concentrations of () and (). Physicochemical characteristics of the effluent, both before and after the treatment, are evaluated over a 140-day period while varying the hydraulic retention time (HRT) and dilution factor. The results indicate the presence of biological activity. The low HRTs and dilution factors adversely influence the removal. and are efficiently removed ( and , respectively), demonstrating the satisfactory performance of the nitrification-denitrification approach and the effectiveness of methanol as an energy source.
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Acknowledgments
This study was funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), the industrial partners of RIME UQAT-Polytechnique (Agnico Eagle, Canadian Malartic Mine, Iamgold, Raglan Mine-Glencore, and Rio Tinto), and Mabarex. The authors gratefully acknowledge the assistance of Mathieu Allaire, Sabrina Castelli, Félicia Porqueres, and Marc Paquin during the experimental procedures.
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©2018 American Society of Civil Engineers.
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Received: May 17, 2017
Accepted: Oct 30, 2017
Published online: Feb 22, 2018
Published in print: May 1, 2018
Discussion open until: Jul 22, 2018
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