Neutralization of Acid Mine Drainage with Wood Ash

Abstract

The paper presents the research activities oriented to solving two environmental issues of concern: acid mine drainage that poses a great risk to soils and water, and wood ash disposal, which can be done only under strict conditions, with high costs. After trials with synthetic acid waters, the behavior of four types of ash has been investigated. The ashes used were originated from two boilers belonging to a fiberboard manufacturer, individually and mixed according to their production process, using acid mine drainage from a copper mine. Acid mine drainage has been characterized in what concern pH, fix and mineral residues, as well as Fe, Cu, Zn and Mn content. For all ashes and their mixtures, the pH (water suspension 1:5), humidity, as well as their neutralization capacity have been determined. The obtained results have been very good, proving that wood ash has better neutralization capacity than calcium carbonate, thus enabling to pursue and extend the present research work.