The role of membrane technology in acid mine water treatment: a review

Abstract

The activities of mining industries are attracting more scrutiny as the concern of limitations of conventional technology for wastewater treatment and the potential use of wastewater have resulted in accelerated attention in membrane technologies. The paucity of water and industrial environmental guidelines has resulted in the application of membrane technologies in wastewater treatment, especially in the mining industry. Although many conventional physical and chemical processes have been employed to treat acid mine drainage (AMD), they have, however, demonstrated low efficiency and high cost. Membrane technologies have proven to be an important part in the treatment of AMD in order to reduce water paucity. Apart from addressing water paucity, membrane technologies meet high-level application with respect to ease of use, adaptability and environmental impacts. This paper reviews the use of membrane in the published literature for the treatment of acid mine waters and, for the recovery of valuable metals from acid mine drainage effluents. The role of membrane technology in acid mine water treatment is discussed together with the factors that determine membrane performance for AMD treatment. The challenges of membrane technology in acid mine water treatment were reviewed and some solutions to the challenges are presented.