Acid Mine Drainage Neutralization Effort in Mud Media by<i> Lactobacillus casei</i> Bacteria and <i>Dekkera bruxellensis</i> Fungi

Abstract

Mine acid drainage (MAD) is a primary environmental problem caused by mining activity. The main characteristics of MAD are extremely low pH level (1.5-4.0), as well as content of sulfate and a number of heavy metals and metalloids that can destroy vegetation, accelerate erotion, and disrupt land ecosystem balance. The objective of this research was to process MAD by improving pH level and lowering iron and manganese content in MAD by Lactobacillus casei and Dekkera bruxellensis mixed culture. MAD Neutralization test was conducted on SMSs media with MAD concentration variations of 10, 15, 20 and 25 (%;v/v), and contact time variations of 48, 96, 144, and 192 (hours). The MAD neutralization test by Lactobacillus casei and Dekkera bruxellensis mixed culture occurred best at 10% concentration (v/v) with contact time of 96 hours. The pH improvement reached up to 6.20 with iron metal efficiency removal at 32.47% and manganese metal up to 24.94%. MAD neutralization test revealed that the best contact time variation is at 96 hours. At this contact time, the pH level was increased to 6.17 with iron metal removal efficiency at 31.17% and manganese metal removal at 25.43%.