Date of Award

8-17-2023

Document Type

Thesis

Abstract

When it comes to the treatment of acid mine drainage (AMD), sulfate-reducing bioreactors are more sustainable and inexpensive compared to traditional alkaline treatment methods. As a passive system, sulfate-reducing bioreactors require not only less energy, but also less labor for operation. Sulfate reducing microbial community present in the bioreactor utilizes ����42− as electron acceptor and supplemented organic matter, such as glycerol, as terminal electron donor, and generates alkalinity and sulfides. This process not only neutralizes the acidity, but also removes soluble sulfate. The sulfides can further react with dissolved metal ions in the wastewater and produce precipitates. In this research, pilot scale column bioreactors were operated for 508 days at low pH and temperature conditions while being fed with AMD feed solution containing dissolved metals. The operating temperature varied between 5°C to 15°C to simulate the water temperature from early spring to later fall in Alaska. Our results showed that sulfidogenesis conditions in the bioreactors were able to help achieve complete removal of soluble zinc in all operating conditions, along with high removal of soluble iron and manganese.

Handle

http://hdl.handle.net/11122/14652

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