title: Long term remediation of highly polluted acid mine drainage: a sustainable approach to restore the environmental quality of the Odiel river basin.
abstract: During 20 months of proper operation the full scale passive treatment in Mina Esperanza (SW Spain) produced around 100 mg/L of ferric iron in the aeration cascades, removing an average net acidity up to 1500 mg/L as CaCO(3) and not having any significant clogging problem. Complete Al, As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Ti and V removal from the water was accomplished through almost the entire operation time while Fe removal ranged between 170 and 620 mg/L. The system operated at a mean inflow rate of 43 m(3)/day achieving an acid load reduction of 597 g·(m(2) day)(-1), more than 10 times higher than the generally accepted 40 g·(m(2) day)(-1) value commonly used as a passive treatment system designing criteria. The high performance achieved by the passive treatment system at Mina Esperanza demonstrates that this innovative treatment design is a simple, efficient and long lasting remediation option to treat highly polluted acid mine drainage.
authors.affiliation: Geology Department, University of Huelva, Campus El Carmen, E-21071 Huelva, Spain. manuel.caraballo@dgeo.uhu.es
authors.forename: Manuel A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Caraballo
authors.forename: Francisco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Macías
authors.forename: Tobias S
authors.initials: TS
authors.lastname: Rötting
authors.forename: José Miguel
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Nieto
authors.forename: Carlos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ayora
mesh_terms: D000143:Acids / Q000032:analysis*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D052918:Environmental Restoration and Remediation / Q000379:methods*; D019216:Metals, Heavy / Q000032:analysis*; D008906:Mining; D045483:Rivers / Q000737:chemistry*; D013030:Spain; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D000143:Acids; D019216:Metals, Heavy; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical