Treatment of Water from an Open-Pit Copper Mine Using Biogenic Sulfide and Limestone: A Feasibility Study

Details

• Personal Author:
  Dvorak DH ; Edenborn HM ; Hammack RW
• Description:
  A bench-scale biogenic sulfide and limestone treatment system was used to treat-acidic metal-contaminated water from the Berkeley Pit, an abandoned open-pit copper mine in Butte, Montana. Hydrogen sulfide was generated in a sulfate reduction bioreactor and was used to precipitate metal sulfides from the mine water in a separate reactor. The metal-depleted, sulfate-rich mine water then passed through a limestone-filled reactor to raise its pH before entering the bioreactor. The treatment process removed more than 99% of the initial concentrations of Fe, Cu, Zn, and Al (620, 178, 530, and 278 mg 1-1, respectively) in the mine water. The process also removed 91% of the initial Mn concentration (191 mg 1-1). Copper and Zn concentrates were selectively recovered from the mine water based on the pH-dependent dissociation of the added H2S. The limestone used to raise the pH was eventually passivated, possibly by the precipitation of gypsum, silica, clay minerals, and aluminum hydroxide. A modification of this biogenic sulfide/limestone treatment system has the potential to treat Berkeley Pit water to within discharge standards, and could generate saleable metal sulfide concentrates to partially offset treatment costs. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Mining Occupational Health Safety Waste Management
• Keywords:
  Acid Mine Drainage Author Keywords: Bacterial Sulfate Reduction Berkeley Pit Bioreactor Limestone Neutralization Metal Sulfide Precipitation Mining-industry Montana Pollutants Pollution Waste-treatment Water Treatment

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• Series:
  Mining Publications
• ISSN:
  0043-1354
• 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:
  28
• Issue:
  11
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:10012442
• Citation:
  Water Res 1994 Nov; 28(11):2321-2329
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1995
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  Water Research
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:539a507db11a3be4abbf640444a0614a735834308c6ae45758ac2cedf4e3875898e1f36b44db27061bd3c46f8f0ba7587e68b2d9425648c7199546e686b24823
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/220296/cdc_220296_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 823.85 KB ]