Treatment of Metal-Contaminated Water Using Bacterial Sulfate Reduction: Results from Pilot-Scale Reactors

Details

• Personal Author:
  Dvorak DH ; Edenborn HM ; Hedin RS ; McIntire PE
• Description:
  Simple anaerobic reactors were installed to treat metal-contaminated water in an underground coal mine and at a smelting residues dump in Pennsylvania. The reactors consisted of barrels and tanks filled with spent mushroom compost, within which bacterial sulfate reduction became established. Concentrations of Al, Cd, Fe, Mn, Ni, and Zn were typically lowered by over 95 pct as contaminated water flowed through the reactors. Cadmium, Fe, Ni, and some Zn were retained as insoluble metal sulfides following their reaction with bacterially generated H2S. Aluminum, Mn, and some Zn hydrolyzed and were retained as insoluble hydroxides or carbonates. Reactor effluents were typically circumneutral in ph and contained net alkalinity. The principal sources of alkalinity in the reactors were bacterial sulfate reduction and limestone dissolution. This article examines the chemistry of the reactor systems and the opportunities for enhancing their metal-retaining and alkalinity-generating potential. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Arsenic Inorganic Chemicals Mining Occupational Health Safety Titanium
• Keywords:
  Anaerobic Reactors Author Keywords: Bacterial Sulfate Reduction Coal-mining Heavy Metal Sulfides Limestone Dissolution Metals Mining-industry Spent Mushroom Compost Underground-mining Waste-treatment
• Series:
  Mining Publications
• ISSN:
  0006-3592
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 3 ; Pennsylvania
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  PRC - Pittsburgh Research Center
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  40
• Issue:
  5
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:10011471
• Citation:
  Biotechnol Bioeng 1992 May; 40(5):609-616
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1992
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  Biotechnology and Bioengineering
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:d5b729f1606f192126e1b2c4c6d146c8b49ac20d632c60e669d46fde04fae2617635420d8db638753401896d48a7160690e11a5cb209827e754727b890a9dd78
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/220164/cdc_220164_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 840.75 KB ]