Removal of sulphates acidity and iron from acid mine drainage in a bench scale biochemical treatment system

Abstract

The focus of this study was to develop a simple biochemical system to treat acid mine drainage for its safe disposal. Recovery and reuse of the metals removed were not considered. A three‐step process for the treatment of acid mine drainage (AMD), proposed earlier, separates sulphate reducing activity from metal precipitation units and from a pH control system. Following our earlier work on the first step (biological reactor), this paper examines the second step (i.e. chemical reactor). The objectives of this study were: (1) to determine the increase in pH and the reduction of iron in the chemical reactor for different proportions of simulated AMD, and (2) to assess the capability of the chemical reactor. A series of experiments was conducted to study the effects of addition of alkaline sulphidogenic liquor (ASL) derived from a batch sulphidogenic biological reactor (operating with activated sludge and a COD/SO4 ratio of 1.6) on the simulated AMD characteristics. At 60‐minute contact time, addition of 30% ASL (pH of 7.60–7.76) to the chemical reactor with 70% AMD (pH of 1.65–2.02), increased the pH of the AMD to 6.57 and alkalinity from 0 to 485 mg l−1 as CaCO3, respectively and precipitated about 97% of the iron present in the simulated AMD. Others have demonstrated that metals in mine drainage can be precipitated by bacterial sulphate reduction. In this study, iron, a common and major component of mine drainage was used as a surrogate for metals in general. The results indicate the feasibility of treating AMD by an engineered sulphidogenic anaerobic reactor followed by a chemical reactor and that our three‐step biochemical process has important advantages over other conventional AMD treatment systems.