Migration and Fate of Acid Mine Drainage Pollutants in Calcareous Soil

Fenwu Liu, Xingxing Qiao, Lixiang Zhou and Jian Zhang
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Fenwu Liu: Environmental Engineering Laboratory, College of Resource and Environment, Shanxi Agricultural University, Taigu 030801, China
Xingxing Qiao: Environmental Engineering Laboratory, College of Resource and Environment, Shanxi Agricultural University, Taigu 030801, China
Lixiang Zhou: Department of Environmental Engineering, College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China
Jian Zhang: Environmental Engineering Laboratory, College of Resource and Environment, Shanxi Agricultural University, Taigu 030801, China

IJERPH, 2018, vol. 15, issue 8, 1-14

Abstract: As a major province of mineral resources in China, Shanxi currently has 6000 mines of various types, and acid mine drainage (AMD) is a major pollutant from the mining industry. Calcareous soil is dominant in western North China (including the Shanxi Province), therefore, clarifying the migration behavior of the main AMD pollutants (H + , S, Fe, heavy metals) in calcareous soil is essential for remediating AMD-contaminated soil in North China. In this study, the migration behavior of the main pollutants from AMD in calcareous soil was investigated using soil columns containing 20 cm of surficial soil to which different volumes of simulated AMD were added in 20 applications. Filtrate that was discharged from the soil columns and the soil samples from the columns were analyzed. Almost all of the Fe ions (>99%) from the AMD were intercepted in the 0–20 cm depth of the soil. Although >80% of SO 4 2− was retained, the retention efficiency of the soil for SO 4 2− was lower than it was for Fe. Cu, as a representative of heavy metals that are contained in AMD, was nearly totally retained by the calcareous soil. However, Cu had a tendency to migrate downward with the gradual acidification of the upper soil. In addition, CaCO 3 was transformed into CaSO 4 in AMD-contaminated soil. The outcomes of this study are valuable for understanding the pollution of calcareous soil by AMD and can provide key parameters for remediating AMD-contaminated soil.

Keywords: acid mine drainage; Fe; S; calcareous soil; pollutant migration behavior (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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