A fixed bed pervious concrete anaerobic bioreactor for biological sulphate remediation of acid mine drainage using simple organic matter

Thisani, S, Vandi Von Kallon, D and Byrne, PA (2021) A fixed bed pervious concrete anaerobic bioreactor for biological sulphate remediation of acid mine drainage using simple organic matter. Sustainability, 12 (12). ISSN 2071-1050

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Abstract

The development of low-operational-cost and low-operational-complexity active sulphate (SO4) reducing bioremediation for Acid Mine Drainage (AMD) is an ongoing pursuit towards sustainable mining. This study introduces a fixed bed pervious concrete anaerobic bioreactor as a second stage AMD remediation process. The study investigated the pH self-regulation capabilities, SO4 remediation capabilities and the rate limiting parameters of the bioreactor using glucose as an organic matter source. The AMD was pre-treated using a permeable reactive barrier. A 21-day trial comprised of an increase in the SO4 loading rate while reducing the organic loading rate was undertaken to identify performance limiting conditions. A daily average SO4 concentration reduction rate of 55.2% was achieved over the initial 13 days of the experiments. The study found that a COD to SO4 ratio and VFA to alkalinity ratio below 5:1 and 0.5:1 respectively were performance limiting. The bioreactor was capable of self-regulating pH within the neutral range of 6.5 and 7.5. The study findings indicate that the bioreactor design can reduce operational costs and operational complexity of active AMD bioremediation.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	12 Built Environment and Design
Subjects:	G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GE Environmental Sciences T Technology > TD Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering
Divisions:	Biological and Environmental Sciences (from Sep 19)
Publisher:	MDPI AG
Related URLs:	https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/12/6529
Date of acceptance:	29 May 2021
Date of first compliant Open Access:	9 June 2021
Date Deposited:	09 Jun 2021 08:38
Last Modified:	04 Sep 2021 05:22
DOI or ID number:	10.3390/su13126529
URI:	https://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/15120

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