Sugar and Steel By-Product Utilization in Acid Mine Drainage Remediation
Publication: Journal of Hazardous, Toxic, and Radioactive Waste
Volume 24, Issue 1
Abstract
In this research, two industrial by-products produced close to South African mining regions were used to treat acid mine drainage (AMD): steel slag and sugarcane bagasse, i.e., the shredded cane stalk residual after sugar extraction. Basic oxygen furnace (BOF) slag has a high alkalinity that makes it ideal for neutralizing acids. Sugarcane bagasse has a high surface area, and its slow decomposition makes it an ideal host media and long-term carbohydrate source for sulfate reducing bacteria (SRB). Accordingly, this research explored the viability of remediating AMD in a two-step continuous process combining both materials. A design was proposed and tested, in which a mixture of BOF slag eluate (generated from a treated water recycle loop) and raw AMD was used to initially buffer the AMD solution and precipitate heavy metals into a sedimentation tank. This avoided toxic shocking the SRBs in a subsequent sugarcane bagasse bioreactor. Overflow from the sedimentation tank was then passed through a packed bed containing sugarcane bagasse inoculated with SRBs as a polishing step to remove sulfate, precipitate metal sulfides, and elevate pH to near neutral pH conditions. The effluent from this vessel represents the treated water, and a fraction was recycled through a packed bed of BOF slag to create an alkaline eluate for the pretreatment of the raw AMD solution. The effect of AMD composition and slag particle size on the treatment was studied. The operation of the designed process at the laboratory scale, between 1 and , has confirmed the buffering of the AMD solution to a pH of between 7 and 8 and the removal of heavy metals and sulfate to levels below for Al, Fe, Mg, and Mn and for sulfate. The amount of Ca increased in the system, which was attributed to the dissolution of slag. The SRB functioned well in the system with a maximum sulfate reduction of 35% (accounting for 2% of overall sulfate removal) occurring across the sugarcane bagasse bioreactor. Precipitation and sedimentation accounted for the bulk of sulfate removal with over 90% of sulfate being removed across the sedimentation tank. Residence times of between 44 and 4 days were achieved for different conditions—smaller particle sizes of slag exhibiting better performances in terms of recycle rate and residence times.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
This work was conducted in part while D.G. Grubb served as the Vice President of Research and Development at Phoenix Services LLC. The authors would like to thank Phoenix Slag Services of South Africa (Iwan Vermeulen) for their financial, technical support, and research materials; and Illovo Sugar (Mark Napier) and our confidential mining partner for AMD materials and other support. Gratitude is also extended to the Water Research Commission (WRC; Project No. K5/2757) of South Africa. The financial assistance of the National Research Foundation (NRF) toward this research is also hereby acknowledged. The opinions expressed and the conclusions drawn, are those of the authors and are not necessarily to be attributed to the NRF.
References
Akcil, A., and S. Koldas. 2006. “Acid mine drainage (AMD): Causes, treatment and case studies.” J. Cleaner Prod. 14 (12–13): 1139–1145. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2004.09.006.
Alamanos, A., N. Mylopoulos, L. Vasiliades, and A. Loukas. 2018. “Climate change effects on the availability of water resources of Lake Karla Watershed for irrigation and Volos City urban water use.” In Proc., 14th Biannual Int. Protection and Restoration of the Environment Conf., edited by N. Theodossiou, C. Christodoulatos, A. Koutsospyros, D. Karpouzos, and Z. Mallios, 3–12. Thessaloniki, Greece: Div. of Hydraulics and Environmental Engineering, Dept. of Civil Engineering and the Environmental Council, Aristotle Univ. of Thessaloniki.
APHA (American Public Health Association). 1975. Standard methods for the examination of water and wastewater. 14th ed. New York: APHA.
CeBer (Center for Bioprocess Engineering Research). 2016. CeBER laboratory methods manual. Rondebosch, South Africa: CeBer.
Ding, Y. C., T. W. Cheng, P. C. Liu, and W. H. Lee. 2017. “Study on the treatment of BOF slag to replace fine aggregate in concrete.” J. Constr. Build. Mater. 146 (Aug): 644–651. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2017.04.164.
Feng, D., J. S. J. Van Deventer, and C. Aldrich. 2004. “Removal of pollutants from acid mine wastewater using metallurgical by-product slags.” J. Sep. Purif. Technol. 40 (1): 61–67. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seppur.2004.01.003.
Fernández-González, D., J. Prazuch, I. Ruiz-Bustinza, C. González-Gasca, and J. Piñuela-Noval. 2019. “The treatment of basic oxygen furnace (BOF) slag with concentrated solar energy.” J. Solar Energy 180 (Jun): 372–382. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solener.2019.01.055.
Gomes, H. I., W. M. Mayes, M. Rogerson, D. I. Stewart, and I. T. Burke. 2016. “Alkaline residues and the environment: A review of impacts, management practices and opportunities.” J. Cleaner Prod. 112 (Part 4): 3571–3582. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2015.09.111.
Grubb, D. G., D. G. Landers, P. A. Guerra, B. Miller, A. Bilgin, and M. T. Hernandez. 2018. “Sugarcane bagasse as a microbial host media for the passive treatment of acid mine drainage.” J. Environ. Eng. 144 (10): 04018108. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)EE.1943-7870.0001400.
Haman, D. Z., and F. S. Zazueta. 2014. Settling basins for trickle irrigation in Florida. Gainesville, FL: UF/IFAS Extension.
Hussain, A., and J. I. Qazi. 2016. “Application of sugarcane bagasse for passive anaerobic biotreatment of sulphate rich wastewaters.” J. Appl. Water Sci. 6 (2): 205–211. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13201-014-0226-2.
Meegoda, J. N., S. Gao, and L. Hu. 2011. “Solid waste and ecological issues of coal to energy.” J. Hazard. Toxic Radioactive Waste 15 (2): 99–107. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)HZ.1944-8376.0000071.
Naicker, K., E. Cukrowska, and T. S. McCarthy. 2003. “Acid mine drainage arising from gold mining activity in Johannesburg, South Africa and environs.” J. Environ. Pollut. 122 (1): 29–40. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0269-7491(02)00281-6.
Naidoo, S., P. Manders, L. Godfrey, and P. Hobbs. 2009. “The global context of AMD.” In Acid mine drainage in South Africa, 1–2. Cham, Switzerland: Springer Briefs.
Naidu, T. S., L. D. Van Dyk, C. M. Sheridan, and D. G. Grubb. 2018. “Passive acid mine drainage remediation using BOF steel slag and sugarcane bagasse.” In Proc., 14th Biannual Int. Protection and Restoration of the Environment Conf., edited by N. Theodossiou, C. Christodoulatos, A. Koutsospyros, D. Karpouzos, and Z. Mallios. 438–447. Thessaloniki, Greece: Div. of Hydraulics and Environmental Engineering, Dept. of Civil Engineering and the Environmental Council, Aristotle Univ. of Thessaloniki.
Name, T., and C. Sheridan. 2014. “Remediation of acid mine drainage using metallurgical slags.” J. Miner. Eng. 64 (Oct): 15–22. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mineng.2014.03.024.
Peppas, A., K. Komnitsas, and I. Halikia. 2000. “Use of organic covers for acid mine drainage control.” J. Miner. Eng. 13 (5): 563–574. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0892-6875(00)00036-4.
Piatak, N. M., M. B. Parsons, and R. R. Seal. 2015. “Applied geochemistry characteristics and environmental aspects of slag: A review.” J. Appl. Geochem. 57 (Jun): 236–266. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeochem.2014.04.009.
Potgieter-Vermaak, S. S., J. H. Potgieter, P. Monama, and R. Van Grieken. 2006. “Comparison of limestone, dolomite and fly ash as pre-treatment agents for acid mine drainage.” J. Miner. Eng. 19 (5): 454–462. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mineng.2005.07.009.
Rasheed, P. A., K. A. Jabbar, K. Rasool, R. P. Pandey, M. H. Sliem, M. Helal, A. Samara, A. M. Abdullah, and K. A. Mahmoud. 2019. “Controlling the biocorrosion of sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) on carbon steel using ZnO / chitosan nanocomposite as an eco-friendly biocide.” J. Corros. Sci. 148 (Jul): 397–406. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.corsci.2018.12.028.
Riley, A. L., and W. M. Mayes. 2015. “Long-term evolution of highly alkaline steel slag drainage waters.” J. Environ. Monit. Assess. 187 (7): 463. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-015-4693-1.
Roadcap, G., W. Kelly, and C. Bethke. 2005. “Geochemistry of extremely alkaline (pH>12) ground water in slag-fill aquifer.” J. Groundwater 43 (6): 806–816. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-6584.2005.00060.x.
Sheoran, A. S., and V. Sheoran. 2006. “Heavy metal removal mechanism of acid mine drainage in wetlands: A critical review.” J. Miner. Eng. 19 (2): 105–116. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mineng.2005.08.006.
Sumi, L., and B. Gestring. 2013. Polluting the future: How mining companies are contaminating our nations waters in perpetuity. Cape Town, South Africa: Earthworks.
Tambe, S. P., S. D. Jagtap, A. K. Chaurasiya, and K. K. Joshi. 2016. “Progress in organic coatings evaluation of microbial corrosion of epoxy coating by using sulphate reducing bacteria.” J. Prog. Organic Coat. 94 (May): 49–55. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.porgcoat.2016.01.009.
Tuffnell, S. 2017. “Acid drainage: The global environmental crisis you’ve never heard of.” Accessed July 19, 2018. https://theconversation.com/acid-drainage-the-global-environmental-crisis-youve-never-heard-of-83515.
United Nations Development Programme. 2019. “Goal 6: Clean water and sanitation.” Accessed April 27, 2019. http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sustainable-development-goals/goal-6-clean-water-and-sanitation.html.
USEPA. 2018. 2018 edition of the drinking water standards and health advisories tables. Washington, DC: USEPA.
Vorosmarty, C. J., et al. 2018. “Ecohydrology and hydrobiology ecosystem-based water security and the sustainable development goals (SDGs).” J. Ecohydrol. Hydrobiol. 18 (4): 317–333. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecohyd.2018.07.004.
Yildirim, I. Z., and M. Prezzi. 2015. “Geotechnical properties of fresh and aged basic oxygen furnace steel slag.” J. Mater. Civ. Eng. 27 (12): 04015046. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)MT.1943-5533.0001310.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Hazardous, Toxic, and Radioactive Waste
Volume 24 • Issue 1 • January 2020
Copyright
©2019 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jan 31, 2019
Accepted: Jun 18, 2019
Published online: Aug 27, 2019
Published in print: Jan 1, 2020
Discussion open until: Jan 27, 2020
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.