title: Use of ochre from an abandoned metal mine in the south east of Ireland for phosphorus sequestration from dairy dirty water.
abstract: Ochre found at coal mine drainage sites in the United Kingdom shows a high phosphorus (P) retention capacity with little mobilization of metals. This indicates that ochre has the potential to adsorb P from agricultural wastewaters for possible use as a fertilizer. Little research has focused on the ability of metal mine ochre to sequester P in an environmentally sustainable way. Untreated acid mine drainage from an abandoned copper-sulfur mine in the Avoca-Avonmore catchment in the south east of Ireland results in extensive low-value ochre deposition. In this study, P-amended water (50 mL) was mixed with this ochre (2.5 g) in batch experiments, and a maximum P adsorption capacity, calculated from the Langmuir equation, of between 16 and 21 g P kg(-1) was calculated. However, mobilization of heavy metals from Avoca ochre in distilled, surface, and dirty water batch experiments was observed. This mobilization may inhibit ochre's use in P removal from wastewaters.
authors.affiliation: Teagasc, Johnstown Castle, Environmental Research Centre, County Wexford, Rep. of Ireland. owen.fenton@teagasc.ie
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Fenton
authors.forename: M G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Healy
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rodgers
mesh_terms: D000327:Adsorption; D003612:Dairying; D007220:Industrial Waste / Q000032:analysis*; D007494:Ireland; D007700:Kinetics; D008670:Metals / Q000737:chemistry*; D008906:Mining; D010758:Phosphorus / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D014865:Waste Disposal, Fluid / Q000379:methods*; D014961:X-Ray Diffraction
chemical_list: D007220:Industrial Waste; D008670:Metals; D010758:Phosphorus