WATER POLLUTION

•Water pollution is the contamination of water bodies

(e.g. lakes, rivers, oceans and groundwater). Water
pollution occurs when pollutants are discharged
directly or indirectly into water bodies without
adequate treatment to remove harmful compounds.
into water bodies without adequate treatment to
remove harmful compounds.
•Water pollution affects plants and organisms living
in these bodies of water; and, in almost all cases the
effect is damaging not only to individual species and
populations, but also to the natural biological
communities.
•Water is typically referred to as polluted
when it is impaired by anthropogenic
contaminants and either does not support a
human use, such as drinking water, and/or
undergoes a marked shift in its ability to
support its constituent biotic communities,
such as fish.
• Natural phenomena such as volcanoes, algae
blooms, storms, and earthquakes also cause
major changes in water quality and the
ecological status of water.
• Point source
Point source pollution refers to contaminants
that enter a waterway from a single,
identifiable source, such as a pipe or ditch.
Examples of sources in this category include
discharges from a sewage treatment category
include discharges from a sewage treatment
plant, a factory, or a city storm drain.
 Non–point sources

• Non–point source (NPS) pollution refers to diffuse

contamination that does not originate from a single
discrete source.
• NPS pollution is often the cumulative effect of small
amounts of cumulative effect of small amounts of
contaminants gathered from a large area.
• A common example is the leaching out of nitrogen
compounds from fertilized agricultural lands. Nutrient
runoff in storm water from "sheet flow" over an
agricultural field or a forest are also cited as examples
of NPS pollution.
• Contaminated storm water washed off of parking
lots, roads and highways, called urban runoff, is
sometimes included under the category of NPS
pollution.
• However, this category of NPS pollution, the
runoff is typically channeled into storm drain
systems and discharged through pipes to local
surface waters, and is a point source. However
where such water is not channeled and drains
directly to ground it is a non-point source.
 Groundwater pollution

• Interactions between groundwater and surface water are

complex. Consequently, groundwater pollution, sometimes
referred to as groundwater contamination, is not as easily
classified as surface water pollution.
• By its very nature, groundwater aquifers are susceptible to
contamination from sources that may not directly affect
surface water bodies, and the distinction of point vs.
nonpoint source may be irrelevant. A spill or ongoing
releases of point source may be irrelevant.
• A spill or ongoing releases of chemical or radionuclide
contaminants into soil (located away from a surface water
body) may not create point source or non-point source
pollution, but can contaminate the aquifer below, defined
as a toxin plume
 Causes of water pollution
• Sewage (a) Oxygen demanding waste
(b) Disease causing agents
• Nutrients
• Chemical waste
(a) Synthetic Organic pollutants
(b) Pesticides
(c) Polychlorinated Dibenzodioxins (PCDDs)
(d) Polychlorinated Dibenzofurans (PCDFs):
(e) Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCB)
(f ) Other inorganic pollutants
• Heavy metals
• Pathogens
• Thermal pollution
• Acid Mine Drainage and sediments.
 Sewage
• Sewage disposal affects people's immediate environments
and leads to water-related illnesses such as diarrhoea that
kills 3-4 million children each year.
• According to the World Health Organization, water related
diseases could kill 135 million people by 2020.
• In developed countries, most people have flush toilets that
take sewage waste quickly and hygienically away from their
homes.
• Yet the problem of sewage disposal does not end there.
When you flush the toilet, the waste has to go somewhere
and, even after it leaves the sewage treatment works, there
is still waste to dispose of. Sometimes sewage waste is
pumped untreated into the sea or river.
• In theory, sewage is a completely natural substance
that should be broken down harmlessly in the
environment: 90 percent of sewage is water.
• In practice, sewage contains all kinds of other
chemicals, from the pharmaceutical drugs people take
to the paper, kinds of other chemicals, plastic, and
other wastes they flush down their toilets.
• When people are sick with viruses, the sewage they
produce carries those viruses into the environment. It
is possible to catch illnesses such as hepatitis, typhoid,
and cholera from river and sea water.
 Oxygen demanding waste
• The primary cause of deoxygenetion of aquatic systems is
the presence of organic substances collectively called
oxygen demanding waste.
• When these substances enter a waterway, dissolved oxygen
is consumed in their breakdown by micro-organisms.
• So, the organic substances can be said to exert a demand
on availability of dissolved oxygen.
• Pollutants in this category come from sewage,food
processing plants, pulp and paper mill.
• These waste depletes DO level and affects taste,odors and
color and makes unsuitable for use of domestic and
livestock.
 Biological oxygen demands (BOD)
• The Biological oxygen demands (BOD) is a
measure of oxygen utilised by micro-organism
during the oxidation of organic materials.
• BOD is most widely known measure for assessing
the water pollution potential of a given organic
waste.
• The demand of oxygen is directly proportional to
the amount of organic waste, which has to
broken down.
• Drinking water should have < 1mg/L BOD. Water
having BOD value < 3mg/L is considered fairly
pure but reaching BOD at 5mg/L is having doubt
in purity.
 Nutrients
• Suitably treated and used in moderate quantities,
sewage can be a fertilizer: it returns important
nutrients to the environment, such as nitrogen
and phosphorus, which plants and animals need
for growth.
• The trouble is, sewage is often released in much
greater quantities than the natural environment
can cope with.
• Chemical fertilizers used by farmers also add
nutrients to the soil, which drain into rivers and
seas and add to the fertilizing effect of the
sewage.
• Together, sewage and fertilizers can cause a massive
increase in the growth of algae or plankton that
overwhelms huge areas of oceans, lakes, or rivers.
• This is known as a harmful algal bloom (also known as
an HAB or red tide, because it can turn the water red).
• It is harmful because it removes oxygen from the
water that kills other forms of life, leading to what is
known as a dead zone.
• The Gulf of Mexico has one of the world's most
spectacular dead zones. Each summer, it grows to an
area of around 7000 square miles (18,000 square
kilometres), which is about the same size as the state
of New Jersey.
 Waste water
• A few statistics illustrate the scale of the problem that
waste water (chemicals washed down drains and
discharged from factories) can cause. Around half of all
ocean pollution is caused by sewage and waste water.
• Each year, the world generates 400 billion tons of
industrial waste, much of which is pumped untreated
into rivers, oceans, and other waterways. In the United
States alone, around oceans, and other waterways. In
the United States alone, around 400,000 factories take
clean water from rivers, and many pump polluted
waters back in their place.
• Factories are point sources of water pollution, but quite a lot
of water is polluted by ordinary people from nonpoint
sources; this is how ordinary water becomes waste water in
the first place.
• Virtually everyone pours chemicals of one sort or another
down their drains or toilets. Even detergents used in washing
machines and dishwashers eventually end up in our rivers and
oceans. So do the pesticides we use on our gardens. A lot of
toxic pollution also enters waste water from highway runoff.
• Highways are typically covered with a cocktail of toxic
chemicals—everything from spilled fuel and brake fluids to
bits of toxic chemicals and worn tyres (themselves made
from chemical additives) and exhaust emissions.
• When it rains, these chemicals wash into drains and
rivers. It is not unusual for heavy summer rainstorms to
wash toxic chemicals into rivers in such concentrations
that they kill large numbers of fish overnight. It has
been estimated that, in one year, the highway runoff
from a single large city leaks as much oil into our water
environment as a typical tanker spill.
• Some highway runoff runs away into drains; others can
pollute groundwater or accumulate in the land next to
a road, making it increasingly toxic as the years go by.
 Chemical waste
• Detergents are relatively mild substances. At the opposite end
of the spectrum are highly toxic chemicals such as
polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). They were once widely used
to manufacture electronic circuit boards, but their harmful
effects have now been recognized and their use is highly
restricted in many countries.
• Nevertheless, an estimated half million tons of PCBs were
discharged into the environment during the 20th century. In a
classic the environment during the 20th century. In a classic
example of transboundary pollution, traces of PCBs have even
been found in birds and fish in the Arctic.
• They were carried there through the oceans, thousands of
miles from where they originally entered the environment.
Although PCBs are widely banned, their effects will be felt for
many decades because they last a long time in the
environment without breaking down.
Synthetic Organic pollutants:
•These include detergents, pesticides,
polychlorinated biphenyls and other synthetic
organic chemicals.
•These compounds in contrast to the organic
wastes, are not biodegradable and may persist for
long periods.
• These are of great concern to environmentalists
because most of the synthetic organic compounds
are accumulative toxic poisons and ultimately may
reach objectionable levels in water or in aquatic life.
•Analysis of polluted waters show the presence
of a wide variety of these compounds and
many others are probably not being detected.

• Of these, detergents, pesticides,

polychlorinated biphenyls have been subjected
to intensive study since these degradation
resistant organics are not efficiently removed
from the treatment processes and disposal of
inadequately treated sewage can cause severe
problems.
•Soaps are salts of long chain fatty acids such as
sodium stearate .
•The cleaning action of soap results largely
from its emulsifying power caused by the dual
nature of the soap anion.
•In the presence of oils, fats, and other water
insoluble organic materials, the “tail” of the
anion tends to dissolve in the organic matter,
whereas the carboxyl "head" remains in
aqueous solution.
•Thus the soap emulsifies, or suspends,
organic material in water.
• All sodium and potassium salts of soap are
soluble in water.
•If the water is hard, the calcium, magnesium
and any other ions causing hardness
precipitate the soap .
•However soap has a distinctive advantage
from the environmental stand point.
•As soon as soap gets into sewage or an
aquatic system, it generally precipitates as
calcium and magnesium salts.
• Hence any effects that soap might have in
solution are eliminated. As it is eventually
biodegrades, the soap is completely
eliminated from the environment.

•Thus soap does not cause any substantial

pollution problems.
• A wide variety of synthetic detergents, commonly
called syndets have been accepted as a substitute for
soap.
•Their major advantage is that they do not form
insoluble precipitates with the ions causing hardness.
As marketed most of them contain from 20 to 30
percent surfactant, and 70 to 80 percent builders.

•The builders are usually sodium sulphate, sodium

tripolyphosphate, sodium silicate and other materials
that enhance the detergent properties of the active
ingredient. Of these polyphosphates undergo fast
biodegradation by hydrolysis.
• Even though these hydrolysis products do not pose
any threat to aquatic animal life, they act as nutrients
for plants and thus cause eutrophication by excessive
growth of plants.
Pesticides
•The term pesticide is used to cover a wide range of
chemicals that kill organisms that human consider
undesirable and includes the more specific
categories of insecticides, herbicides, rodenticides,
and fungicides.
• There are three main groups of synthetic organic
insecticides: organochlorines (also known
as chlorinated hydrocarbons), organo phosphates,
and carbamates. In addition a number of herbicides,
including the chlorophenoxy compounds
•2,4,5-T (trichloro phenoxy acetic acid, which
contains the impurity dioxin, which is one of the most
potent toxins known) and 2,4-D (dichlorophenoxy
acetic acid) are common water pollutants.

•The most well known organo chlorine pesticide is

DDT (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane) which has
been widely used to control insects that carry such
diseases such as malaria, typhus, and plague.

•By contributing to the control of these diseases, DDT

is credited with saving literally millions of lives
worldwide.
• It was its impact on food chains, rather than human
toxicity, that led to its ban.
• Organochlorine pesticides, such as DDT, have two
properties that cause them to be particularly
disruptive to food chains.
•They are persistent, which means they last a long time
in the environment before being broken down into
other substances and they are quite soluble in lipids,
which means they easily accumulate in fatty tissue.
•The accumulation of organo chlorine pesticides in
fatty tissue means that organisms at successfully
higher trophic levels in a food chain are consuming
food that has successively higher concentrations of
pesticide.
•At the top of food chain body concentrations
of these pesticides are the highest, and it is
there that organo chlorine toxicity has been
most recognizable.
•Birds, for example , are high on the food
chain and it was the adverse effect of DDT on
their reproductive calcium metabolism in
birds, resulting in eggs with shells that are too
thin to support the weight of the parent.
•The resulting difficulty to reproduce has been
shown to affect a number of species, including
falcons, bald eagles, ospreys, and brown pelicans.
•Other widely used organochlorines included
methoxychlor, chlordane, heptachlor, aldrin,
dieldrin, and chlordane produce liver cancers, and
aldrin, dieldrin, and endrin have shown to cause
birth defects in mice and hamsters.
• One of the great environmental disasters that
had resulted from pesticide manufacture users in
the production of kepone at virginia, USA.
• This pesticide was used for the control of
banana-root borer, tobacco wire-worm, ants and
cockroaches during mid 1970's.
•However the plant was ultimately closed since
worker's exposure to kepone in the manufacturing
unit showed severe neurological damage.
•Given the ecosystem disruption, the toxicity, and
the biological resistance to these pesticides that
many insect species have developed,
organochlorines have largely been replaced with
organophosphates and carbamates.
•The organophosphates, such as parathion, malathion,
diazinon, TEPP(tetraethylpyrophosphate), and
dimethoate, are effective against a wide range of insects
and they are not persistent
•.However, they are much more toxic than the
organochlorines that they have replaced. They are
rapidly absorbed through the skin, lungs, and
gastrointestinal tract and, hence, unless proper
precautions are taken they are very hazardous to those
who use them.
• Humans exposed to excessive amounts have shown a
range of symptoms including tremor, confusion, sturred
speech, muscle twitching, and convulsions
•Propoxur, carbaryl, and aldicarb are some of the
popular carbamate pesticides.
• Acute human exposure to carbamates has led to a
range of symptoms, such as nausea, vomiting,
blurred vision, and in extreme cases
convulsions.
Polychlorinated Dibenzodioxins (PCDDs) And
Polychlorinated Dibenzofurans (PCDFs):

•Polychlorinated dibenzodioxins are highly toxic and are

the by-products in the manufacture of chlorophenoxy
herbicides and hexachlorophene.

•The chlorophenoxy herbicides including 2,4,5-

trichlorophenoxyacetic acid, were manufactured on a
large scale for weed and brush control and as military
defoliants
Polychlorinated Biphenyls:

•Polychlorinated biphenyls, PCBs, are among the most

hazardous human made substances. PCBs are extremely
stable to heat, chemical, and biological decomposition.

•They are excellent insulating and cooling fluids,

extensively used for many years in manufacture of
transformers and capacitors.

•PCBs are also used in hydraulic fluids, lubricating oils,

paints, adhesive resins, inks, fire retardants, wax
extenders, and numerous other products.
•They resist the degradation and adsorb into soils
and colloidal materials in water. Some persist with
half-lives of 8-15 years in the environmental
compartments.

•This stability contributes to their dispersion in the

environment and long-range air pollution.

•The chemical and physical properties of PCBs make

the remediation of the pollution sites difficult.
 Heavy metals
• Another kind of toxic pollution comes from heavy
metals, such as lead, cadmium, and mercury. Lead
was once commonly used in gasoline (petrol), though
its use is now restricted in some countries.
• Mercury and cadmium are still used in
batteries(though some brands now use other metals
instead). Until recently, a highly toxic chemical called
tributyltin (TBT) was used in paints to protect boats
from the ravaging effects of the oceans.
• Ironically, however, TBT was gradually recognized as
a pollutant: boats painted with it were doing as much
damage to the oceans.
 Other inorganic pollutants
Cyanide
• Cyanide is a deadly poisonous substance, that exists in
water as HCN; It is a very weak acid.
• Cyanide ion forms stable complexes with metal ions and
these complexes are relatively less toxic.
• The cyanide ion has a strong affinity for many metal ions
forming relatively less toxic complexes. For example with
iron (II) it forms less toxic [Fe (CN)6 ] 4 - where as volatile
HCN is toxic.
• Especially metal cleaning and electroplating industry use
large quantities of cyanides. The presence of cyanide in
water is indicative of a serious pollution problem.
 Ammonia

• Ammonia is formed during the microbial

degradation of decaying biomass and organic
matter in soil and water.
• Nitrogenous compounds like proteins are
ammonified to release ammonia into the
surroundings.
• Sometimes it is added to drinking water during
chlorination where it reacts to provide residual
disinfectant chlorine.
 Nitrite nitrogen
• Nitrite nitrogen seldom appears in concentrations greater than
1mg/L, even in waste treatment plant effluents. Its
concentration in surface and groundwaters is normally much
below 0.1 mg /L.
• Nitrite is added to some industrial process water to inhibit
corrosion; it is rarely found in drinking water at levels over 0.1
mg/L.

Sulfite ion
• Some industrial wastes contain sulphite ions where sodium
sulphite is added to boiler feed waters as an oxygen scavenger.
 Eutrophication and algal nutrients
• Eutrophication is a process of providing a water body
with nutrients for the aquatic life it, supports. A lake
starts its life as a clean body of water.
• Small amounts of nitrates and phosphates occur in all
aquatic systems and these are sufficient to maintain a
balanced biological growth (a balance between the
• production of aquatic life and its destruction by
bacterial decomposition).
• With the introduction of nutrients through land run off
and growth and decay of aquatic life, the lake collects
good amount of organic substances.
• Thus when unusually large concentrations of nutrients
are present in water bodies, there is an excess of
growth of algae known as algal bloom.
• This produces an unsightly green slime layer over the
surface of water body.
• This slime layer reduces the penetration of light and
restricts atmospheric reoxygenation of the water.
• The dense algal growth eventually dies and the
subsequent biodegradation produces oxygen deficit
which can result in foul smelling anaerobic conditions.
• The anaerobic conditions created by rotting algae can
present health hazard to aquatic systems.
• Thus with large inputs of nutrients from human
sources, the bacterial decomposition cannot keep
pace with the productivity and sedimentation is
accelerated, whereby eutrophication only is
favoured.
• Lakes can be protected from eutrophication only
by providing measures for sewage treatment and
preventing the sewage from entering the water
bodies.
• The best known example of heavy metal
pollution in the oceans took place in 1938 when a
Japanese factory discharged a significant amount
of mercury metal into Minamata Bay,
contaminating the fish stocks there.
• It took a decade for the problem to come to
light. By that time, many local people had eaten
the fish and around 2000 were poisoned.
Hundreds of people were left dead or disabled.
 Pathogens
• Water is potential carrier of pathogenic micro-
organisms.
• Pathogens are carried in to water bodies by sewage
and wastes from farm and various industries.
• Some bacteria are water-borne and causes
cholera,typhoid,amoebic dysentry.
• Viruses are also found in water and responsible for
polio,hepatitis etc.
• Coliform bacteria are a commonly used bacterial
indicator of water pollution, although not an actual
cause of disease.
 Thermal pollution
• Thermal pollution is the rise or fall in the temperature
of a natural body of water caused by human influence.
• Thermal pollution, unlike chemical pollution, results in
a change in the physical properties of water.
• A common cause of thermal pollution is the use of
water as a coolant by power plants and industrial
manufacturers.
• Elevated water temperatures decreases oxygen levels
(which can kill fish) and affects ecosystem composition,
such as invasion by new thermophilic species.
• Urban runoff may also elevate temperature in surface
waters.
• Thermal pollution can also be caused by the release of
very cold water from the base of reservoirs in to
warmer rivers.
 Acid Mine Drainage
• Acid Mine Drainage (AMD), or Acid Rock Drainage
(ARD), refers to the outflow of acidic water
usually from abandoned metal mines or Coal
mines. However, other areas where the earth has
been disturbed like construction sites,
subdivisions, transportation corridors, etc. may
also contribute Acid Rock Drainage to the
environment.
• In many localities the liquid that drains from Coal
stocks, Coal handling facilities, Coal washeries,
and even Coal waste tips can be highly acidic, and
in such cases it is treated as Acid Rock Drainage.
• Acid Rock Drainage occurs naturally within some
environments as a part of the rock weathering
process but is exacerbated naturally within some
environments by large-scale earth disturbances
characteristic of mining and other large
construction activities, usually within rocks
containing an abundance of sulphide minerals.
• The average sulphur content of indian coals
except those of Assam and Jammu-Kashmir, is
below 1%. The total sulphur content of Assam
coals is as high as 8%.
 OCCURRENCE OF ACID MINE
DRAINAGE
•Sub-surface mining often progresses below the
water table, so water must be constantly
pumped out of the mine in order to prevent
flooding. When a mine is abandoned, the
pumping ceases, and water floods the mine.
• This introduction of water is the initial step in
most acid mine drainage situations. Tailings
piles or ponds are also other sources of acid
mine drainage.
• After being exposed to air and water, oxidation of
metal sulphides, often pyrite, within the surrounding
rock and overburden generates acidity.
• Colonies of bacteria and archaea greatly accelerate the
decomposition of metal ions, although the reactions
also occur in an abiotic environment.
• These microbes, also occur in an abiotic environment.
These microbes, called extremophiles for their ability
to survive in harsh conditions, occur naturally in the
rock, but limited water and oxygen supplies usually
keep their numbers low.
• Special extremophiles known as acidophiles
especially favour the low pH levels of
abandoned mines. In particular, Thiobacillus
ferrooxidans is a key contributor to Pyrite
oxidation.
• Metal mines generate highly acidic discharges
where the ore is a sulphide or is associated
with Pyrites. In these cases, the predominant
metal ion may not be Iron but rather Zinc,
Copper, or Nickel.
• The most commonly-mined ore of Copper,
Chalcopyrite, is itself a copper-iron-sulphide
and Nickel.
• Thus, Copper mines are often major culprits
of AMD.
• The acid lowers the pH of the water, making it
corrosive and unable to support many forms
of aquatic life.
• Acid formation is most serious in areas of
moderate rainfall where rapid oxidation and
solution of exposed minerals can occur.

• Impacted uses include irrigation and livestock,

industrial, and portability of water supplies
along with recreational uses, scenic resource
appreciation, and aquatic organism habitat.
• The position of a water table within the soil also
influences drainage quality. Water table elevations in
soils fluctuate in response to seasonal conditions
forming a zone of cyclic wetting and drying.
• This provides optimal wetting and drying. This
provides optimal conditions for the oxidation and
subsequent leaching of pyrite and associated
weathering products.
• Ground-water flow paths and the location and
elevation of saturated zones are often difficult to
predict in mine soils.
• Some coal seams are responsible for intense
AMD while others are not. In most cases, high
concentration of polysulphide which in turn is
responsible for AMD. Inorganic Sulphur, on
the responsible for AMD.
• Organic Sulphur, on the contrary, is
structurally bound with coal, hence
weathering of coal bearing strata yields AMD
in negligible quantity
 CHEMISTRY OF PYRITE WEATHERING
• The chemistry of oxidation of Pyrites, the
production of Ferrous ions and subsequently
Ferric ions, is very complex.

• Ferric ion and Sulphate are the only detectable

products of Pyrite oxidation.

• The solid Pyrite, when introduced to oxygen and

water, is catalyzed to form Iron(II) ions, Sulphate
ions, and Hydrogen ions. The Hydrogen ions bind
to the Sulphate ions to produce Sulphuric acid.
• The oxidation-induced degradation of Pyrite in
mine tailing piles is also of significant interest,
since the resulting production of sulphuric
acid has a severe detrimental impact on the
surrounding environment.

• Much of the information concerned with the

surface reactivity of Pyrite, however, has been
inferred from macroscopic observations
during aqueous studies.
• Studies showed that, in the pure H₂O vapour
environment, oxidation of FeS₂ is spatially limited to
Sulphur-deficient surface sites.
• Results further suggest that Thiosulphate is a long-
lived intermediate that ultimately gets converted into
Sulphate on the Pyrite surface in this environment.
• Significant oxidation of the disulphide group of FeS₂
only occurs if O₂ is present along with H ₂O vapour.
• O₂ adsorption on region of FeS₂ results in the
formation of Fe³+ sites that facilitates the dissociation
of H₂O and the oxidation of the disulphide group.
• chemical weathering reactions are spontaneously
initiated when surface mining activities expose spoil
materials to an oxidizing environment.
• The mineral assemblages contained in the spoil are not
in equilibrium with the oxidizing environment and
almost immediately begin weathering and mineral
transformations.
• The reactions are analogous to "geologic weathering"
which takes place over extended periods of time i.e.,
hundreds to thousands of years but the rates of
reaction are of orders of magnitude greater than in
time i.e., hundreds to thousands of years
• The accelerated reaction rates can release damaging
quantities of acidity, metals, and other soluble
components into the environment.
• The Pyrite oxidation process has been extensively
studied and has been reviewed by many researchers.
For purposes of this description, the term "Pyrite" is
used to collectively refer to all iron disulphide minerals
• The following equations show the generally
accepted sequence of Pyrite reactions:
• 2FeS₂ + 7 O₂ + 2 H₂O ---→2 Fe2+ + 4 SO4ˉ+ 4 H+
• 4Fe2+ + O₂ + 4 H+ ----→4 Fe3+ + 2 H₂O
• 4 Fe3+ + 12 H₂O ------→ 4 Fe(OH)ӡ+ 12 H+
FeS₂+ 14 Fe3+ + 8 H₂O → 15 Fe2+ +2 SO4ˉ + 16 H+
• In the initial step, Pyrite reacts with Oxygen and
water to produce ferrous iron, sulphateand
acidity.
•The second step involves the conversion of Ferrous
iron to Ferric iron. This second reaction has been
termed the "rate determining" step for the
overall sequence.
•The third step involves the hydrolysis of Ferric iron
with water to form the solid ferric hydroxide and
the release of additional acidity. This third
reaction is pH dependent. Under very acid
conditions of less than about pH 3.5, the solid
mineral does not form and ferric iron remains in
solution. At higher pH values, a precipitate forms,
commonly referred to as "Yellowboy".
• The fourth step involves the oxidation of
additional Pyrite by ferric iron.
• The Ferric Iron is generated by the initial
oxidation reactions in steps one and two. This
cyclic propagation of acid generation by iron
takes place very rapidly and continues until the
supply of Ferric Iron or Pyrite generation by iron
takes place very rapidly and continues until the
supply of Ferric Iron or Pyrite is exhausted.
Oxygen is not required for the fourth reaction to
occur.
•The overall pyrite reaction series is among the
most acid-producing of all weathering processes
in nature.
The rate of Pyrite oxidation depends on
numerous variables such as
•Reactive surface area of Pyrite,
•Oxygen concentration (water)
•Oxygen concentration,(air)
•Solution pH,
•The presence of Thiobacillus bacteria,
•Catalytic agents.
FORMATION OF ACID MINE DRAINAGE

• Mining involves huge area of land and affects

the quality of surface and underground water
by adding contaminants and toxic compounds
making it unsafe for drinking usage, disturbing
making it unsafe for drinking usage, disturbing
the hydrology of area and causes the acid
mine drainage.
The major source of liquid effluents are :
• Surface run-off
•Water pumped out during drainage operation
•Spent water from handling plant
•Dust extractors
•Dust suppression system
•Effluents from preparation and beneficiation
plants
• Wash off from waste/tailing dumps
• Acid mine drainage is produced whenever a mine
of any type in permeable formations interacts
with the water table, or where surface water
finds it’s way into a mine in terrains where
sulphidesor pyrites are present in the ore or
country rock.
• Amongst objectionable in the ore or country rock.
Amongst objectionable features of acid mine
drainage are low pH and high level of Sulphates,
Iron and total dissolved solids.
• These deplate Oxygen level in water, increase
toxicity by rendering heavy metal soluble, and
create corrosion problems.
• Sulphur in coal and other metalliferrousore bodies
gives rise to the origin of AMD.
• Sulphur as such does not present at significant
concentration but occurs in inorganic i.e. Sulphateand
Sulphideforms and organic Sulphateand Sulphideforms
and organic combinations.
• However organic sulphuris structurally bound and
inert and hence does not produce acidity in mine
drainages to a considerable extent but inorganic
sulphur contributes a lot to AMD formation.
 ROLE OF BACTERIA IN AMD
• Thiobacillus ferrooxidans cells grow on sulphur, pyrite, and
chalcopyrite exhibit greater hydrophobicity than ferrous
ion-growncells.
• These reactions lead to the production of sulphuricacid and
so the pH of the water system drops rapidly, often to below
pH 2.
• Thio refers system drops rapidly, often to below pH 2.
• Thior efers to sulphur, bacillus to the shape of the organism
elongated; ferre refers to iron and oxidans to oxidizing. So
put it together we have an organism that oxidizes sulphur
and iron.
• In the case of ferrooxidans, sulphur and iron are used in
energy production and what they do is basically this
reaction
• 2FeS + 7H2O 2Fe(OH)2+H2SO4
(sulphuric acid) •The sulphuric acid causes the
general environment to become more acidic
and the environment to become more acidic
and the rocks/minerals dissolve in the acid.
 ADVERSE EFFECTS OF ACID MINE
DRAINAGE
• Water quality deterioration due to acid mine drainage
is of concern in the North Eastern coalfields of India as
the water in this area is severely polluted.
• The mine drainage water emanating from various
collieries are highly acidic in character and contains
high hardness, sulphate, total dissolved solids and iron
coupled with sulphate, total dissolved solids and iron
coupled with low pH values which further resultsin
contamination of trace metals at significant levels.
• Trace metals are highly toxic and undesirable and are
injurious to human health.
• These acidic waters are also typically hard in
character because of iron sulphate content
rather than common Ca-Mg bicarbonate type
hardness
• AMD gives rise to several problems of
environmental degradation especially pollution
of aqueous environment. Coal mining operations
cause considerable changes in the amount,
distribution and quality of water in surrounding
areas. The contamination of trace metals along
with along with other weatherable minerals in
AMD which are acid soluble and are leached from
the coal and associated strata during mining
operations, result in severe water quality
deterioration in the mining areas.
Polluted water of this type will:-
• Not support aquatic life,
•Destroys mining equipments,
•Increases the cost of water treatment for various
water supplies and also
•Leaves the water unacceptable for drinking and
recreational use•
•Badly affects agriculture.
•Causes corrosion in various man-made structures
as pipes, well screens, dams, bridges,
• The influx of untreated acid mine drainage into
streams can severely degrade both habitat and
water quality often producing an environment
devoid of most aquatic life and unfit for desired
uses.
• The severity and extent of damage depends upon
a variety of factors including the frequency,
volume, and chemistry of the drainage, and the
size and buffering capacity of the receiving
stream.
• The aggressive nature of mine drainage also
results in corrosion and incrustation problems
with respect to such man-made structures as
machineries, pipes, well screens, dams,
bridges, water intakes, and pumps.
• Acidic mine drainage in particular can also be
toxic to vegetation when recharging to the
shallow groundwater system and soil water
zones.
 ADVERSE EFFECTS OF ACID MINE
DRAINAGE(contd.)
•It supports only limited type of flaura like acid resistant
moulds and algae. It goes on increasing and form a mat
over the water and when this algae decomposes, produces
toxic material.
•Because of dcreased pH, the solubulity of heavy metals such
as Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu etc increases. The metal consumes the
oxugen pressentin water for their oxidation. As a result
oxygen dissolved in water reduces and it can no more
support life. their oxidation. As a result oxygen dissolved in
water reduces and it can no more support life.
•Water becomes corrosive and can not be used for industrial
purpose.
•It also leads the water body unaccetable for recreation.
•This water is not suitable for agricultural and drinking
purposes
 EFFECTS OF ACID MINE DRAINAGE
AND METALS ON AQUATIC MICRO-
ORGANISMS AND FISH
• Acid mine drainage with elevated metals
concentrations discharging into headwater streams or
lightly buffered streams have a devastating effect on
the aquatic life.
• Secondary effects such as increased carbon dioxide
tensions, oxygen reduction by the oxidation of metals,
increased osmotic pressure from oxidation of metals,
increased osmotic pressure from high concentrations
of mineral salts, and synergistic effects of metal ions
also contribute to toxicity
• In addition to chemical effects of mine
drainage, physical effects such as increased
turbidity from soil erosion, accumulation of
coal fines, and smothering of the stream
substrate from precipitated metal compounds
may also occur.
 EFFECT ON pH

•Most organisms have a well defined range of pH

tolerance. If the pH falls below the tolerance range,
death will occur due to respiratory or
osmoregulatoryfailure.
• Low pH causes a disturbance of the balance of sodium
causes a disturbance of the balance of sodium and
chloride ions in the blood of aquatic animals.
• At low pH, hydrogen ions may be taken into cells and
sodium ions expelled. Low pH tends to eliminate
species that feed on algae like scrapers or grazers.
• Low pH may inhibit growth of bacteria which help
break down leaves to make them more easily
digestible and which also serve as a food source.
• These observations theorize that low pH levels
reduced the food sources for invertebrates,
thereby indirectly reducing their numbers.
•Absence of fish in acidified waters can be
related to dissolved metals at certain pH levels.
The primary causes of fish death in acid metals at
certain pH levels.
• The primary causes of fish death in acid waters is
loss of sodium ions from the blood and loss of
oxygen in the tissues.
• Acid water also increases the permeability of
fish gills to water, adversely affecting gill
function. Ionic imbalance in fish may begin at
a pH of 5.5 or higher, depending on the
tolerance of the species; severe anoxia will
occur below pH 4.2.
• Low pH that is not directly lethal may
adversely affect fish growth rates and
reproduction
 EFFECT OF METAL CONTENT

• Heavy metals can increase the toxicity of mine drainage

and also act as metabolic poisons. Iron, Aluminium, and
Manganese are the most common heavy metals which can
compound the adverse effects of mine drainage.
• Trace metals such as Zinc, Cadmium, and Copper, which
may also be present in mine drainage, are toxic at
extremely low concentrations and may act synergistically to
suppress algael growth and affect fish and benthos.
• Some fish, such as brook trout, are tolerant of low pH, but
addition of metals decreases that tolerance. In addition to
pH, but addition of metals decreases that tolerance
• . In addition to dissolved metals, precipitated Iron or
Aluminium hydroxide may form in streams receiving
mine discharges with elevated metals concentrations.
• Ferric and Aluminium hydroxides decrease oxygen
availability as they form; the precipitate may coat gills
and body surfaces, smother eggs, and cover the stream
bottom, filling in crevices in rocks, and making the
substrate unstable and unfit for habitation by benthic
organisms.
• Scouring of iron floccuant increases turbidity and
suspended solids and may inhibit fish feeding.
• •Mine drainage effects on aquatic life vary
widely, from elimination of all but the few most
tolerant algae, macroinvertebrates, and fish, to
little or no effect.
• The most severe effects are caused by high
volume, low pH discharges with high
concentrations of dissolved metals that drain into
lightly buffered streams and produce
accumulations of precipitated Iron or Aluminium.
 AMD CONTROL METHODS

• •Acid mine can be effectively controlled by

preventing it’s formation at source, by diluting
acid mine drainage to acceptable effluents
quality, and by applying standard waste water
treatment methods for neutralization, and
removal of dissolved solids. •Treatment of mine
drainage can take two basic forms. There are –
•Active treatment systems and
•Passive treatment systems.
• Active treatment systems, as the name suggests,
requires a constant maintenance of the
system,supplying.
• Active chemical treatment of AMD to remove
metals and acidity is often an expensive.
• Passive treatment systems by comparison are
designed to allow for low, or no maintenance
and should be self contained with regards to
treatment and waste.
• The primary passive technologies include
constructed wetlands, anoxic limestone drains
(ALD), successive alkalinity producing systems
(SAPS), limestone ponds, and open limestone
channels (OLC).
 ACID MINE DRAINAGE CONTROL
MEASURES
•Various control measures have been adopted
to control the AMD are:
•Modified mining methods like long wall mining
•Mine sealing.
•Surface reclamation.
•Water diversion.
•Control of ground water flow system by well
fields and other methods
• Deep well injunction for containing polluted
water.
•Subsurface dams and ground curtains.
•Dilution of AMD to achieve acceptable effluent
quality.
•Spraying bacteriophage viruses in to mines to kill
acid forming bacteria.
•Chemical grouting to make rock impermeable and
to bind sulphur by using plastic bubbles to fill
abandoned mines.
 Water Treatment Operations

• The treatment of water can be classified into

three categories,
• Treatment of raw water for drinking purposes
• Treatment of raw water specialised industrial
applications.
• Treatment of waste water to make it
acceptable for release or reuse
• Water that has to be used for domestic purposes should be
thoroughly disinfected to eliminate disease causing
microorganisms but can contain appreciable amounts of
dissolved salts such as calcium and magnesium.

• The water that has to be used for industrial purposes must be

soft to prevent scale formation in boilers but can contain
microorganisms.
• Although most of the physical and chemical
processes used to treat water involve similar
phenomena, the method and degree of water
treatment are site specific.
• These processes, which consist of series of unit
operations, are applied in different combinations
and sequences depending upon the prevailing
situations of influent concentration, composition
and specifications of the effluent.
 Municipal Water Treatment For Raw
Water
• For a water treatment system to bring raw
water to drinking water quality, depends to a
large extent on the quality of the source of
water.
• Some water requires only simple disinfection.
Surface water will usually need to be filtered
and disinfected, while ground water will often
need to have hardness (calcium and
magnesium) removed before disinfection.
 A typical treatment plant for surface water might include
the following sequence of steps
• Mixing tank
• Flocculation basin
• Settling tank
• Sand filter
• Sludge processing
• Source
• screening
• To storage and distribution Disinfection
• Addition of coagulant
•
• Screening to remove relatively large floating and suspended
debris.
• Mixing the matter with chemicals that encourage suspended
solids to
coagulate into larger particles that will more easily settle.
• Flocculation, which is the process of gently mixing the water and
coagulant, allowing the formation of large floc.
• Sedimentation in which the flow is slowed enough so that gravity
will
cause the floc to settle.
• Sludge processing where the mixture of solids and liquids
collected from
the settling tank are dewatered and disposed of.
• Disinfection of the liquid effluent to ensure that the water is free
from harmful pathogens.
Treatment Of Raw Water For Industrial
Use

• The following factors must be taken into account

for designing and operating an industrial water
treatment facility.
• Quantity of Water requirement
• Quantity and quality of available water sources
• Successive uses for applications requiring
progressively lower water quality
• Water recycle
• Discharge standards.
 Waste Water Treatment
• Primary treatment of waste water:
• The primary treatment comprises of pretreatment step and
sedimentation step.
• Pretreatment:
• It consists of screening and grit removal. Screening removes
or reduces the size of trash and large solids that get in to
sewage system.
• These solids are collected on screens and scraped off for
subsequent disposal.
• Comminuting devices shred and grind solids in the sewage.
Particle size may be reduced to the extent that the particles
can be returned to the sewage flow.
• After screening, the waste water is allowed to
enter a grit chamber for the removal of inorganic
grit consisting of sand, gravels and pebbles.
• Grit chambers are provided to protect pumps
from abrasion and to reduce the formation of
heavy deposits in pipes and channels.
• Grit is normally allowed to settle in a tank under
conditions of low flow velocity and it is then
scraped mechanically from the bottom of the
tank.
 Primary sedimentation

• Primary sedimentation removes both the settleable

and floatable solids.
• Also the flocculant particles which tend to aggregate
will be allowed to settle by the addition of chemicals
(iron salts, lime and alum).
• The material that floats in the primary settling basin is
known collectively as grease.
• Normally some of the grease settles with the sludge
and floats to the surface, which can be removed
by skimming.
 Secondary treatment for municipal
waste water
• In secondary or biological treatment, oxygen
supplied to the bacteria is consumed under
controlled conditions so that most of the BOD is
removed in the
treatment plant rather than in the water course.
• Thus, the principal requirements of a biological
waste treatment process are an adequate
amount of bacteria that feed on the organic
material present in waste water, oxygen and
some means of achieving contact between the
bacteria and the organics.
• Two of the most commonly used systems for the
biological waste treatment are the biological film
system and the activated sludge system.
• In the biological-film system also known as
trickling filters, the waste water is brought into
contact with a mixed microbial population in the
form of a film of slime
• attached to the surface of a solid support
medium whereas in the activated
• sludge system the waste water is brought in
contact with a diverse group of
• microorganisms in the form of a flocculant
suspension in an aerated tank
• In both cases the organic matter is
metabolised to more stable inorganic forms.
• The most popular means of treating domestic
sewage has been the biological film system
because of its ease of operation.
• However the activated sludge process can be
more reliably be handled when handling large
volumes of waste water, and a high degree of
treatment is achieved.
 Trickling filters
• Conventional trickling filters normally consist of a rock bed, 1
to 3 meters in depth, with enough opening between the rocks
to allow air to circulate easily
• The influent is sprinked over a bed of packing which is coated
with a biological slime.
• As the liquid trickles over the packing, oxygen and the
dissolved organic matter diffuse into the film to be
metabolised by the microorganisms in the slime layer.
• End products such as CO₂, , etc., diffuse back, out of the film
and appear in the filter effluent.
• Milk processing, paper mills and pharmaceuticals wastes are
among those treated by trickling filters.
• Like all biological units trickling filters are affected by
temperature; therefore cold weather slows down the
biological activity in the filter.
 Rotating biological contactor
• Trickling filters as discussed previously are examples of
devices that rely
• on microorganisms that grow on the surface of the rocks,
plastic or other media.
• A variation of this attached growth approach is provided by
the rotating biological contactactor (RBC).
• An RBC consists of a series of closely spaced, circular,
plastic disks, that are typically 3.6 m in diameter and
attached to a rotating horizontal shaft.
• The bottom of 40% of each disc is submerged in a tank
containing the waste water to be treated.
• The biomass film that grows on the surface of the disks
moves into and out of the waste water as RBC rotates.
• While the microorganisms are submerged in
waste water, they absorb organics; while they
were rotated out of waste water, they are
supplied with needed oxygen.
• By placing modular RBC units in series, treatment
levels that exceed the conventional secondary
treatment can be achieved.
• They are easier to operate under varying load
conditions than trickling filters, since it is easier
to keep the solid medium wet at all times.
• This process of flocculant settling takes place
when the settling velocity of
• the particles increases due to coalescence with
other particles. This type of
• phenomenon is clearly observed in primary
clarifiers. The opportunity for
• coalescence increases with increase in bed depth,
and as a result the particle
• removal efficiency depends on both the overflow
and bed depth.
 Activated sludge process

• The most versatile and effective of all the waste

treatment processes is the activated sludge
process.
• A typical activated sludge plant is shown in fig
• The essential features of the process are: an
aeration tank where the organic matter is
brought into intimate contact with the sludge
from the secondary clarifier.
• This sludge is heavily laden with microorganisms
which are in an active state of growth.
• Air is introduced into the tank, either in the form
of bubbles through diffusers or by surface
aerators.
• The microorganisms utilise oxygen in the air and
convert the organic matter containing N and P
into stabilised, low energy compounds and
synthesise new bacterial cells.
• The effluent from the aeration tank containing
the flocculent biomass, known as the sludge, is
separated in a settling tank, sometimes called a
secondary settler or clarifier.
• These solids settle out in the settler and a
fraction of them is discarded.
• Part of the solids is recycled as return sludge
to the head of the aeration tank and comes
into contact with fresh sewage.
• The combination of high concentration of
"hungry" cells in the return sludge and a rich
food source in the influent sewage provides
optimum conditions for waste degradation.
• (1) In the activated sludge process, BOD is removed by
two path ways.
• Organic matter is oxidised in the course of providing
energy for the metabolic processes of the
microorganism, and
• (2) Synthesis and incorporation of organic matter into
cell mass. In the first pathway, carbon is removed in the
gaseous form as CO₂.
• The second pathway provides for removal of carbon as
a solid in biomass. That portion of the carbon
converted to CO₂ is vented to the atmosphere and does
not present a disposal problem
• What remains to be disposed of is a mixture of solids and
water called sludge.
• The collection, processing and disposal of sludge can be the
most costly
and complex aspect of waste water treatment.
• The concentration of solids in the primary sewage sludge is
about 5% ; in the activated sludge it is less than 1% and
the sludge from trickling filters has about 2% solids
• This means that the sludge is composed almost entirely of
water and volume reduction is the key to economic
disposal.
• In addition to reducing its water content, the sludge must
be stabilised so that its biological activity and tendency
towards putrefaction are reduced drastically.
•
 Advanced Waste Water Treatment
Removal Of Suspended Solids
1 Microstraining
2 Coagulation and flocculation
3 Filtration
Removal of dissolved solids
1. Ion exchange
2. Reverse osmosis
3. Electrodialysis
4. Removal of nitrogen
Phosphate removal (chemical treatment)
Phosphate removal (biological treatment)
Removal of dissolved organic compounds
1. Adsorption
2. Sludge treatment and disposal
3. Disinfection
CHEMICAL TREATMENT OF ACID MINE
DRAINAGE
• Chemical treatment of AMD includes
neutralization of acidity and precipitation of
metal ions to meet the relevant effluent limits.
• •Six primary chemicals are generally used to treat
AMD. Each chemical has characteristics that make
it more or less appropriate for a specific
condition. The best choice among alternatives
depends on both technical and economic factors.
The technical depends on both technical and
economic factors.
• The technical factors include acidity levels,
flow, the type and concentration of metals in
the water, the rate and degree of chemical
treatment needed and the desired final water
quality.
• The economic factors include prices of
reagents, labour, machinery and equipments
the number of years that treatment will be
needed, the interest rate and risk factors.
• The chemical reaction involves are :
H₂SO4+ Ca(OH)₂---→CaSO4 + 2H₂O
•If limestone is used as the neutralizing agent, the
reaction is
H₂SO4+ CaCO3--→CaSO4 + H₂O + CO₂
•To remove the ferrous Iron, the neutralized water
is aerated to produce ferric ions, which react with
the base to form insoluble ferric hydroxides:
Fe₂(SO4)3+ Ca(OH)₂---→Fe(OH)₂+ CaSO4
 LIMESTONE

• Limestone has been used for decades to raise

pH and precipitate metals in AMD.
finelyground limestone may be dumped in
streams ground limestone may be dumped in
streams directly or the limestone may be
ground by water-powered rotating drums and
metered into the stream.
 HYDRATED LIME

•Hydrated lime is a commonly-used chemical for

treating AMD. However, due to the kinetics of
lime dissolution and its neutralization
efficiency, increasing the lime rate above that
efficiency, increasing the lime rate above that
required for acid neutralization increases the
volume of unreacted lime that enters the
metal floc settling pond
 PEBBLE QUICKLIME
• •CaO, has been recently used in conjunction with the
Pebble quicklime, Water Treatment System utilizing a
water wheel concept.
• The amount of chemical applied is dictated by the
movement of the water wheel, which causes a screw
feeder to dispense the chemical.
• The hopper and feeder is the water wheel, which
causes a screw feeder to dispense the chemical. The
hopper and feeder is installed.
• This system was initially used for small and/or periodic
flows of high acidity because calcium oxide is very
reactive. Recently, however, water wheels have been
attached to large bins or silos for high flow/high acidity
situations.
 SODA ASH
•Soda ash is generally used to treat AMD in remote areas with
low flow and low amounts of acidity and metals, but its use
is declining.
• Selection of soda ash for treating AMD is usually based on
convenience rather than chemical cost. Soda ash comes as
solid briquettes and is gravity fed into water by the use of
briquettes and is gravity fed into water by the use of
hoppers mounted over a basket or barrel.
• The number of briquettes to be used each day is
determined by the flow and quality of the water to be
treated.
• The operator fills the box or barrel with briquettes on a
regular basis and places the box or barrel in the flowing
water.
• Caustic soda is often used in remote locations e.g.,
where electricity is unavailable, and in low flow, high
acidity situations. It is commonly the chemical of
choice if manganese concentrations in the AMD are
high. The system can be gravity fed by dripping liquid
high. The system can be gravity fed by dripping liquid
caustic directly into the AMD. Caustic is very soluble in
water, disperses rapidly, and raises the pH of the water
quickly. Caustic should be applied at the surface of
pondedwater because the chemical is more dense than
water and sinks. Tanks housing caustic soda can range
in volume from 500 to 8,000 gallons
 AMMONIA
• Ammonia, the common term for anhydrous ammonia,
is a material that must be handled carefully.
• A gas at ambient temperatures, ammonia is
compressed and stored as a liquid but returns to the
gaseous state when released into water. In the gaseous
state, when released into water.
• In the gaseous state, ammonia is extremely soluble
and reacts rapidly. It behaves as a strong base and can
easily raise the pH of receiving water to 9.2.
• Injection of ammonia into AMD is one of the quickest
ways to raise water pH.It is injected into flowing water
at the entrance of the pond to ensure good mixing
 OTHER NEUTRALISING CHEMICALS

•Particular circumstances may require a

different chemical, a combination of
chemicals, particular management patterns to
implement the most cost effective method, or
implement the most cost effective method, or
to meet more stringent effluent limits.
Potassium hydroxide, magnesium hydroxide,
and magna lime with good results have been
used
 FLOCCULANTS AND COAGULANTS
•They increase particle settling efficiency.
Coagulants reduce the net electrical repulsive
forces at particle surfaces, thereby promoting
consolidation of small particles into larger
consolidation of small particles into larger
particles.
• Flocculation aggregates or combines particles by
bridging the space between particles with
chemicals.
• Bridging occurs when segments of a polymer
chain absorb suspended particles creating larger
particle
 OXIDANTS

•Oxidants are sometimes used to aid in the

completion of the oxidation process to
enhance metal hydroxide precipitation and
reduce metal floc volume.
The hypochlorite reduce metal floc volume. The
hypochlorite products, hydrogen peroxide,
and potassium permanganate are used in
AMD situations and have demonstrated very
effective oxidation.
 AMD TREATMENT BY WETLANDS

Two construction styles currently predominate:

•Aerobic wetlands
•Anaerobic wetlands
 AEROBIC WETLANDS
•In aerobic wetland system ,metals are precipitated
through oxidation reactions to form oxides and
hydroxides.
• Aerobic wetlands are generally used to collect water
and provide residence time and aeration so metals in
the water can precipitate.
• Iron and Mnprecipitate as they oxidize, and the
precipitates are retained in the wetland or
downstream.
• Wetland species are planted in these systems for
aesthetics precipitates are retained in the wetland or
downstream. Wetland species are planted in these
systems for aesthetics and to add some organic matter.
• Enhanced metal removal is associated with
algal blooms. algal mixtures are found to
aerobically remove Mn from mine drainage,
presumably due to elevated pH resulting from
algal growth and the extra oxygen generated
photosynthetically by the algae.
 ANAEROBIC WETLANDS

• •Anaerobic wetlands promote metal oxidation

and hydrolysis in aerobic surface layers, but
also rely on subsurface chemical and microbial
reduction reactions to precipitate metals and
neutralize acid. The water infiltrates through a
thick permeable organic subsurface sediment
and becomes anaerobic due to high biological
oxygen demand.
• Since anaerobic wetlands produce alkalinity,
their use can be extended to poor quality, net
acidic, low pH, high Fe, and use can be
extended to poor quality, net acidic, low pH,
high Fe, and high dissolved oxygen (>2 mg/L)
AMD.
2 CH₂O + SO4²¯----→ H₂S + 2 HCO3
CaCO3+ H+ ------→ Ca₂+ + HCO3
• The bicarbonate neutralizes the acidity of the
AMD, thereby raising pH and increasing the
precipitation of acid-soluble metals such as Fe.
HCO3-+ H+ ----→ H2O + CO2(aq)
 ANOXIC LIMESTONE DRAINS
•ALDs are limestone-filled trenches that can rapidly
produce bicarbonate alkalinity via limestone
dissolution.
• They are installed at the point of discharge to capture
the AMD subterraneously. ALDs are capped with clay or
compacted soil to prevent AMD contact with oxygen.
• The acidic water flowing through trench with oxygen.
The acidic water flowing through trench dissolves the
limestone and releases bicarbonate alkalinity.
• The effluent is discharged into a settling pond to allow
for acid neutralization, pH adjustment, and metal
precipitation. ALDs were first described by the
Tennessee Division of Water Pollution Control (TDWPC)
 OPEN LIMESTONE CHANNELS

• •Where AMD must be conveyed over some

distance prior to or during treatment, use of
open channels lined with limestone has been
open channels lined with limestone has been
shown to be an effective mechanism for
removing Fe and generating small amounts of
alkalinity.
 SUCCESSIVE ALKALINITY PRODUCING
SYSTEMS
• •Successive alkalinity producing systems (SAPS)
combine the use of an ALD and an organic
substrate into one system.
• Oxygen concentrations in AMD are often a design
limitation for ALDs. In a SAPS, acid water is
pondedfrom 1 to 3 m over 0.2 to 0.3 m of an
organic compost, which is underlain by 0.5 to 1 m
of limestone. compost, which is underlain by 0.5
to 1 m of limestone.
• Below the limestone is a series of drainage pipes
that convey the water into an aerobic pond
where metals are precipitated.
• The hydraulic head drives ponded water
through the anaerobic organic compost,
where oxygen is consumed and ferric iron is
reduced to ferrous iron.
• The system effectively increases alkalinity, but
retained most of the Fe and Al inside the
system
 DIVERSION WELLS

• •The diversion well is a simple device initially

developed for treatment of stream acidity. typical
diversion well consists of a cylinder or vertical tank of
metal or concrete, 1.5-1.8 m in diameter and 2-2.5 m
in depth, filled with sand-sized limestone. A large pipe,
20-30 cm in diameter, enters vertically down the center
of the well and ends shortly above the bottom. Water
is fed to the pipe from an upstream dam or deep mine
portal with a hydraulic head of at an upstream dam or
deep mine portal with a hydraulic head of at least 2.5
m which is actually height of well.
• The water flows down the pipe, exits the pipe
near the bottom of the well, then flows up
through the limestone in the well, thereby
fluidizing the bed of limestone in the well.
• The acid water dissolves the limestone for
alkalinity generation, and metal flocsproduced
by hydrolysis and neutralization reactions are
flushed through the system by water flow out
the top of the well.
 NEW DEVELOPMENTS IN ACID
PREVENTION

•Hydrology
•Liners and seals
•Oxygen content
•Bactericides
•Metal precipitating agents
•Mining procedures
•Top soil and revegetation.