Journal: Environmental Earth Sciences 

Authors: Yim G.; Ji S.; Cheong Y.; Neculita C.M.; Song H.

Abstract:

Pilot-scale successive alkalinity producing systems (SAPS) with varying amounts of mushroom compost were installed in a closed coal mine site in Korea to treat acidic mine effluent. The bioreactors were operated for 125 days and monitored for various water quality parameters to evaluate the effect of amount of mushroom compost on the performance of the reactors. The monitored parameters included dissolved oxygen (DO), oxidation–reduction potential (ORP), pH, electrical conductivity, concentrations of sulfate, sulfide and metals, and alkalinity generation. The results demonstrated that acid neutralizing capacity and metal removal efficiency were generally higher for the bioreactors containing greater amounts of mushroom compost. DO and ORP were the most sensitive parameters that readily reflected the effect of the amount of mushroom compost in the bioreactors. The effluents of bioreactors with less amount of mushroom compost consistently gave higher DO and ORP values, although the reactors maintained similar performances in removal of Fe, Al, and sulfate. However, the increase of DO and ORP values is a clear indication of performance deterioration of SAPS, especially in extended period of time. Therefore, in a practical sense, DO and ORP could be utilized as diagnostic parameters for implementation of proper corrective measures to SAPS in operation before encountering system failure. © 2014, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.

Keywords: Acid mine drainage (AMD); Field column study; Mushroom compost; Organic substrate; Successive alkalinity producing system (SAPS)

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-014-3757-9