Study on the Effectiveness of Sulfate-Reducing Bacteria Combined with Coal Gangue in Repairing Acid Mine Drainage Containing Fe and Mn

Abstract

In view of the characteristics of the high content of SO₄²⁻, Fe²⁺ and Mn²⁺ in acid mine drainage (AMD) and low pH value, based on adsorption and biological methods, coal gangue was combined with sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB). On this basis, four dynamic columns, including Column 1 (SRB combined with spontaneous combustion gangue from the Gaode coal mine), Column 2 (SRB combined with spontaneous combustion gangue from Haizhou), Column 3 (SRB combined with gangue from Haizhou), and Column 4 (SRB combined with gangue from Shanxi), were constructed. The efficacy of four columns was compared by the inflow of AMD with different pollution load. Results showed that the repair effect of four columns was: Column 3 > Column 2 > Column 1 > Column 4. In the second stage of the experiment, the repair effect of Column 3 was the best. The average effluent pH value and oxidation reduction potential (ORP) value were 9.09 and –262.83 mV, the highest removal percentages of chemical oxygen demand (COD) and SO₄²⁻ were 84.41% and 72.73%, and the average removal percentages of Fe²⁺, Mn²⁺ were 98.70% and 79.97%, respectively. At the end of the experiment, when deionized water was injected, the fixed effect of AMD in the four columns was stable and no secondary release appeared.