0000000000294335
AUTHOR
Emma-tuulia Tolonen
The removal of sulphate from mine water by precipitation as ettringite and the utilisation of the precipitate as a sorbent for arsenate removal.
Abstract The aim of this research was to investigate sulphate removal from mine water by precipitation as ettringite (Ca6Al2(SO4)3(OH)12·26H2O) and the utilisation of the precipitate as a sorbent for arsenate removal. The mine water sulphate concentration was reduced by 85–90% from the initial 1400 mg/L during ettringite precipitation depending on the treatment method. The precipitation conditions were also simulated with MINEQL + software, and the computational results were compared with the experimental results. The precipitated solids were characterised with X-ray diffraction and a scanning electron microscope. The precipitated solids were tested as sorbents for arsenate removal from the…
Sulphate removal over barium-modified blast-furnace-slag geopolymer
Blast-furnace slag and metakaolin were geopolymerised, modified with barium or treated with a combination of these methods in order to obtain an efficient SO4(2-) sorbent for mine water treatment. Of prepared materials, barium-modified blast-furnace slag geopolymer (Ba-BFS-GP) exhibited the highest SO4(2-) maximum sorption capacity (up to 119mgg(-1)) and it compared also favourably to materials reported in the literature. Therefore, Ba-BFS-GP was selected for further studies and the factors affecting to the sorption efficiency were assessed. Several isotherms were applied to describe the experimental results of Ba-BFS-GP and the Sips model showed the best fit. Kinetic studies showed that th…
How to tackle the stringent sulfate removal requirements in mine water treatment-A review of potential methods.
Abstract Sulfate (SO₄²⁻) is a ubiquitous anion in natural waters. It is not considered toxic, but it may be detrimental to freshwater species at elevated concentrations. Mining activities are one significant source of anthropogenic sulfate into natural waters, mainly due to the exposure of sulfide mineral ores to weathering. There are several strategies for mitigating sulfate release, starting from preventing sulfate formation in the first place and ending at several end-of-pipe treatment options. Currently, the most widely used sulfate-removal process is precipitation as gypsum (CaSO₄·2H₂O). However, the lowest reachable concentration is theoretically 1500 mg L⁻¹ SO₄²⁻ due to gypsum’s solu…
Sulphate removal over barium-modified blast-furnace-slag geopolymer
Blast-furnace slag and metakaolin were geopolymerised, modified with barium or treated with a combination of these methods in order to obtain an efficient SO42− sorbent for mine water treatment. Of prepared materials, barium-modified blast-furnace slag geopolymer (Ba-BFS-GP) exhibited the highest SO42− maximum sorption capacity (up to 119 mg g−1) and it compared also favourably to materials reported in the literature. Therefore, Ba-BFS-GP was selected for further studies and the factors affecting to the sorption efficiency were assessed. Several isotherms were applied to describe the experimental results of Ba-BFS-GP and the Sips model showed the best fit. Kinetic studies showed that the so…
Removal of ammonium from municipal wastewater with powdered and granulated metakaolin geopolymer
Abstract Ammonium (NH₄⁺) removal from municipal wastewater poses challenges with the commonly used biological processes. Especially at low wastewater temperatures, the process is frequently ineffective and difficult to control. One alternative is to use ion-exchange. In the present study, a novel NH4+ ion-exchanger, metakaolin geopolymer (MK-GP), was prepared, characterised, and tested. Batch experiments with powdered MK-GP indicated that the maximum exchange capacities were 31.79, 28.77, and 17.75 mg/g in synthetic, screened, and pre-sedimented municipal wastewater, respectively, according to the Sips isotherm (R² ≥ 0.91). Kinetics followed the pseudo-second-order rate equation in all case…