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Amanda Grant Deep Run High School Henrico County Public Schools

The Effect of Active Calcium Treatments on the pH Levels and Amount of Sludge in Acid Mine Drainage. Amanda Grant Deep Run High School Henrico County Public Schools. Purpose.

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Amanda Grant Deep Run High School Henrico County Public Schools

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  1. The Effect of Active Calcium Treatments on the pH Levels and Amount of Sludge in Acid Mine Drainage Amanda Grant Deep Run High School Henrico County Public Schools

  2. Purpose • Determine which active calcium treatment would raise the pH of acid mine drainage closest to neutral while creating the least amount of sludge.

  3. What is acid mine drainage (AMD)? • Origin: abandoned coal or metal mines • Pyrites + water+ oxygen= AMD • Potentially flows into waterways where it disrupts the environment • T. and L. ferrooxidans speed up the rate of generation of AMD

  4. Acid Mine Drainage…. • Can be visually detected by the yellow-orange color which comes from iron-containing flocculates and precipitates.

  5. Damage habitats Sterile waterways Destroys food webs Threatens biodiversity Decline in human outdoor activity Corrosion of man-made objects Problems with AMD Increased acidity levels: Creation of flocculates: Pyrites entering waterways

  6. How to treat AMD… Types of Treatments: *Active Passive • raise pH above 7 • Types of Alkaline Chemicals: *limestone *hydrated lime *pebble quicklime caustic soda soda ash ammonia • Drawbacks: sludge created • Allow naturally occurring processes to decrease acidity in a controlled area

  7. Methods and Materials • Collected water from Contrary Creek in Louisa County, Virginia

  8. Methods and Materials… • Four beakers were filled with 50 ml of creek water • Group A: control: no treatment • Group B: 0.5 g of limestone • Group C: 0.28 g of pebble quicklime • Group D: 0.37 g of hydrated lime • pH meter was used to measure each pH every half hour until neutralized.

  9. Results: The Effect of Different Types of AMD Treatments on pH Levels

  10. The Effect of Different Types of AMD Treatment on the Amount of Sludge

  11. Conclusions: Reasons for Findings • Limestone increased the pH closest to 7, while creating least amount of sludge • Carbonate solutions such as limestone do not increase the pH of water above 8.5. • Hydroxides such as hydrated lime can raise pHs above 10. • Some metals require pH levels around 10.5 to precipitate so limestone may not have been the most efficient.

  12. Future Studies: • Test all six active treatments • Active Treatments versus Passive • Calcium versus sodium compounds

  13. Improvements: • Larger quantities of water tested • Flowing water rather than stagnant • More specific measurements: centiliters • Test rate of neutralization, pH levels, amount of sludge, and the amount of metals remaining in water after treatment.

  14. The Effect of Active Calcium Treatments on the pH Levels and Amount of Sludge in Acid Mine Drainage Amanda Grant Deep Run High School Henrico County Public Schools

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