Evaluation of fi ne organic mixtures for treatment of acid mine drainage in sul fi dogenic reactors

The performance of passive biochemical reactors in acid mine drainage (AMD) treatment could be enhanced by using fine organic substrates in new reactor designs, such as diffusive exchange reactors. This work evaluated the effect of fine cellulosic components in organic mixtures and of enrichment with inoculum, on sulfate and metals removal in discontinuous cultures for three types of synthetic AMD. The cellulosic substrates evaluated were sawdust, microcrystalline cellulose, and forestry cellulose fibers, supplemented with cow manure and leaf compost. Using microcrystalline cellulose and forestry cellulose fibers with the less concentrated AMD, high sulfate reduction rates (73 mg/L-d and 58.2 mg/L-d, respectively) were achieved. Correspondingly, iron concentrations were reduced by 69% and 86.6%. Based on their higher sulfate reducing capacity, cellulose fibers obtained as fiber boards from a local kraft pulp mill were selected for treating a synthetic AMD with a high copper concentration (273 mg/L) and pH 4.94. In batch culture, low sulfate reducing activity (13.10 mg/L-d) was only observed at the highest substrate/AMD ratio (0.5:10) tested. Results show that the use of forestry cellulose fibers in reactive mixtures supplemented with inoculum could be an alternative for optimization of diffusive exchange reactors for AMD treatment. doi: 10.2166/wst.2018.452 s://iwaponline.com/wst/article-pdf/78/8/1715/504944/wst078081715.pdf N. Pérez (corresponding author) A. Schwarz Centro de Recursos Hídricos para la agricultura y Minería (CRHIAM), Universidad de Concepción, Barrio Universitario sn, Concepción, Chile E-mail: norma.perez@ucn.cl N. Pérez Departamento de Acuicultura, Universidad Católica del Norte, Facultad de Ciencias del Mar, Larrondo 1281, P.O. Box 117, Coquimbo, Chile and Escuela de Prevención de Riesgos y Medio Ambiente, Facultad de Ciencias del Mar, Universidad Católica del Norte A. Schwarz Departamento de Ingeniería Civil, Universidad de Concepción, Barrio Universitario sn, Concepción, Chile J. de Bruijn Facultad de Ingeniería Agrícola, Universidad de Concepción, Avenida Vicente Méndez 595, Chillán, Chile

[1]  H. Urrutia,et al.  Performance of two differently designed permeable reactive barriers with sulfate and zinc solutions. , 2018, The Science of the total environment.

[2]  A. Schwarz,et al.  Performance of three bench-scale diffusive exchange systems during treatment of acid mine drainage with high copper concentration , 2017 .

[3]  Haixia Wang,et al.  Organic wastes as carbon sources to promote sulfate reducing bacterial activity for biological remediation of acid mine drainage , 2014 .

[4]  A. Stams,et al.  Sulfate reduction at low pH to remediate acid mine drainage. , 2014, Journal of hazardous materials.

[5]  L. Deng,et al.  Enhanced bioremediation of heavy metal from effluent by sulfate-reducing bacteria with copper-iron bimetallic particles support. , 2013, Bioresource technology.

[6]  P. Lens,et al.  Organic substrates as electron donors in permeable reactive barriers for removal of heavy metals from acid mine drainage , 2012, Environmental technology.

[7]  Hocheol Song,et al.  Comparative effectiveness of mixed organic substrates to mushroom compost for treatment of mine drainage in passive bioreactors. , 2011, Chemosphere.

[8]  A. Sheoran,et al.  Bioremediation of acid-rock drainage by sulphate-reducing prokaryotes: A review , 2010 .

[9]  B. Rittmann,et al.  The diffusion-active permeable reactive barrier. , 2010, Journal of contaminant hydrology.

[10]  G. Zagury,et al.  Short-Term And Long-Term Bioreactors For Acid Mine Drainage Treatment , 2010 .

[11]  F. Pagnanelli,et al.  Biotreatment and bioassessment of heavy metal removal by sulphate reducing bacteria in fixed bed reactors. , 2010, Water research.

[12]  M. Martins,et al.  Wine wastes as carbon source for biological treatment of acid mine drainage. , 2009, Chemosphere.

[13]  M. Milke,et al.  Sulfate and metal removal in bioreactors treating acid mine drainage dominated with iron and aluminum. , 2009, Water research.

[14]  B. Bussière,et al.  Effectiveness of sulfate-reducing passive bioreactors for treating highly contaminated acid mine drainage: II. Metal removal mechanisms and potential mobility , 2008 .

[15]  A. Pruden,et al.  Comparison of microbial community composition and activity in sulfate‐reducing batch systems remediating mine drainage , 2008, Biotechnology and bioengineering.

[16]  G. Zagury,et al.  Biological treatment of highly contaminated acid mine drainage in batch reactors: Long-term treatment and reactive mixture characterization. , 2008, Journal of hazardous materials.

[17]  D. Blowes,et al.  Zero-valent iron and organic carbon mixtures for remediation of acid mine drainage: Batch experiments , 2008 .

[18]  J. Puhakka,et al.  Sulfate Reduction Based Bioprocesses for the Treatment of Acid Mine Drainage and the Recovery of Metals , 2007 .

[19]  G. Zagury,et al.  Characterization and reactivity assessment of organic substrates for sulphate-reducing bacteria in acid mine drainage treatment. , 2006, Chemosphere.

[20]  F. Widdel,et al.  Dissimilatory Sulfate- and Sulfur-Reducing Prokaryotes , 2006 .

[21]  Reyes Sierra-Alvarez,et al.  Zero valent iron as an electron-donor for methanogenesis and sulfate reduction in anaerobic sludge. , 2005, Biotechnology and bioengineering.

[22]  C. Ayora,et al.  Chemical characterisation of natural organic substrates for biological mitigation of acid mine drainage. , 2004, Water research.

[23]  D. Blowes,et al.  Microbial populations associated with the generation and treatment of acid mine drainage , 2000 .

[24]  D. Blowes,et al.  Geochemistry of a Permeable Reactive Barrier for Metals and Acid Mine Drainage , 1999 .

[25]  David W. Blowes,et al.  Selection of Reactive Mixtures for Use in Permeable Reactive Walls for Treatment of Mine Drainage , 1998 .

[26]  H. Yamazaki,et al.  Use of Cellulosic Substrates for the Microbial Treatment of Acid Mine Drainage , 1994 .

[27]  G. Gibson,et al.  Physiology and ecology of the sulphate-reducing bacteria. , 1990, The Journal of applied bacteriology.