Research

November 4, 2014 at 8:10 pm

Sam Miller Presents ‘Treating Metals in Acid Mine Drainage Using Slow-Release Hydrogen Peroxide’

Geological Sciences graduate student Sam Miller presented a poster on “Treating Metals in Acid Mine Drainage Using Slow-Release Hydrogen Peroxide” in October at the annual meeting of the Geological Society of America in Vancouver, British Columbia.

His co-authors were Young-Wook Chung and Yongje Kim of the Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources; Byong-hun Jeob of Environmental Engineering at Yonsei University in South Korea;  Dr. Eung Seok Lee, Associate Professor of Geological Sciences at Ohio University.

Abstract: Metal concentrations from acid mine drainage (AMD) pose a significant threat to aquatic systems worldwide as a result of past and current mining operations. This study tested the viability of using slow-release hydrogen peroxide (SR-HP) to oxidize and remove ferrous iron (Fe2+) from AMD. Fenton’s reagent forms from a mixture of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and Fe2+ available from AMD, creating an advanced oxidation process. The SR-HP forms were developed by dispersing sodium percarbonate (Na2CO3·1.5H2O2) salts in resin matrix. The SR-HP released H2O2 in flowing water at a peak release rate of 28 mg/min during the initial hour and continued to release H2O2 at a lower, stable release rate. When AMD water collected from an abandoned mine site in Ohio was flown through a glass column containing a SR-HP, Fe2+concentrations were reduced by more than 90% (from ~80 mg/L to ~ 8 mg/L). The SR-HP forms can be strategically installed in the field to reduce metal concentrations in AMD.

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