Adsorption of heavy metals from coal acid mine drainage by shrimp shell waste: Isotherm and continuous-flow studies

Abstract

The main characteristics of coal acid mine drainage (AMD) are low pH and high concentrations of sulfate and different metallic ions. The objective of this research was to study the sorption equilibrium of the removal of metal ions and acids present in coal AMD using shrimp shell in natura (SS) as a biomaterial as well as the behavior of the continuous-flow removal process. The isotherms assays were carried out with synthetic solutions and natural AMD aiming to identify significant differences on metals ions removal by SS. Five isotherm models were studied. R2 values and error statistical functions studies showed that the Freundlich isotherm model was the most appropriate for fitting the experimental data with both synthetic solutions and natural AMD, indicating a metallic removal via a physisorption mechanism. The removal of metal ions in continuous descendent flow was up to 90% Fe and 88% Mn, and the pH increased from 3.49 to 6.77. The adsorption capacities of Fe and Mn resulted in 17.43 and 3.87 mg g−1 SS, respectively. Computing chemical modelling (Visual MINTEQ® software) indicated the sorption was a predominant mechanism on AMD remediation with SS, but with high pH-dependence. This study confirms the suitability of the proposed treatment and provides valuable information for designing a low-cost remediation process for AMD.