The face of acid mine drainage treatment is changing.The costs of abatement of acid mine drainage are high, but the benefits to society and the environment are far greater in the long run.
The current Acid Mine Drainage crisis contributes to the fact that clean natural resources in South Africa are becoming scarcer and legislation is forcing industry to take a closer look at the impact of their processes on the environment.The Verderflex range of peristaltic pumps uses the process of peristalsis to pump products through a hose, in the same way blood, food and oxygen is pumped around the body” says Louw. The pulsation effect means that solids are kept in suspension and no build up can take place. Build up in the hoses are eliminated by using rubber Verderflex hoses that are designed to maximise life expectancy and performance. Verderflex hose pumps are designed to handle these tough operating conditions, ensuring optimal process flow. “You only need 2 allenkeys to dismantle the pump on site,” notes Louw.
“Correcting the pH is a very specific process and the pump used for dosing must be very accurate. Peristaltic pumps have a linear flow-speed characteristic and excellent repeatability, making it the most accurate solution available,” says van der Walt.
http://www.verder.co.za/news/single-news-item/artikel/accurate-dosing-pump-for-acid-mine-water-treatment/
There are various options available for remediating AMD, which may be divided into those that use either chemical or biological mechanisms to neutralise AMD and remove metals from solution. Both abiotic and biological systems include those that are classed as bactiveQ (i.e., require continuous inputs of resources to sustain the process) or bpassiveQ (i.e., require relatively little resource input once in operation).
The choice of which option to use to remediate AMD is dictated by a number of economical and environmental factors. Sometimes the true environmental cost of a remediation system is not immediately apparent
Please refer to the following highly cited article for more details
Johnson, D. B., & Hallberg, K. B. (2005). Acid mine drainage remediation options: a review. Science of the total environment, 338(1), 3-14.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969704006199
Article Acid Mine Drainage Remediation Options: A Review
Researchers identify algae to treat acid mine drainage
http://www.csir.co.za/news/2014/08/acid_mine_drainage.html
The below paper discussed currently used techniques to mitigate Acid Mine Drainage and compares the strengths and weaknesses of each. New and emerging technologies
http://www.imwa.info/docs/imwa_1999/IMWA1999_Kuyucak_599.pdf
The typical methods of treatment for acidic and metal contaminated water effluent such as the Acid Mine Drainage (AMD) will always focus on either civil engineering methods, such as disposal, excavation, drainage and encapsulation or process based technologies such as effluent washing and treatment. These techniques are not environmental friendly, costly and unsustainable, thus environmental damaging. Nowadays, there is a growing need for an alternative remediation treatment that is innovative and more natural in order to prevent pollution in the environment. Therefore, in this study, a new alternative treatment, that is more organic, biodegradable and cost effective, using bone meal was presented. In this research, bone meal comprising of chicken bones were used as an alternative passive treatment to determine its potential in neutralizing and removing heavy metals from the abandoned cooper mine, Mamut Acid Mine Drainage (AMD) waste water effluent.
http://thescipub.com/PDF/ajessp.2014.61.73.pdf
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