Beneficiation of acid mine drainage (AMD): A viable option for the synthesis of goethite, hematite, magnetite, and gypsum – Gearing towards a circular economy concept

Akinwekomi, Vhahangwele; Maree, J. P.; Masindi, Vhahangwele; Zvinowanda, Caliphs; Osman, Muhammad S.; Foteinis, Spyros; Mpenyana-Monyatsi, Lizzy; Chatzisymeon, Efthalia

doi:10.1016/j.mineng.2020.106204

Cited by 41 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 54 publications

(49 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…In addition to material erosion, the runoff triggers the generation of acid mine drainage (AMD) water. The acidic waters of mine drainage are mainly characterised by their high content of dissolved metals and sulphates, acidic pH, and suspended particles [34,61,[66][67][68][69][70][71]. The concentration of iron has been seen to vary from 56 to 558 mg L −1 , and sulphate can reach > 20,000 mg L −1 [58].…”

Section: Water Dispersionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Do Old Mining Areas Represent an Environmental Problem and Health Risk? A Critical Discussion through a Particular Case

2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

A bibliographic review was carried out to establish the state of knowledge of a mining area with several centuries of exploitation and currently abandoned. The selected case study, the Sierra Minera de Cartagena-La Union (Spain), has a long history of mining activity, ending in 1990. The area is rich in metallic sulphide (lead, zinc and iron), with underground mines and quarries. The zone is very close to important populations and affects protected sites of special ecological value. It is also adjacent to areas dedicated to agriculture and important centres of tourist interest. It is a territory that meets the requirements to be classified as a critical area, as it is in a state of unstable physical and geochemical equilibrium, giving rise to possible risks to human health and ecosystems. A literature review was carried out according to the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) methodology criteria, consulting a large number of related publications. The results obtained using the Source-Pathway-Receptor model make it possible to identify the main impacts caused by the contamination sources, the main routes of contamination, as well as the transfer to the biota and the influence on adjacent agricultural soils. In this study, lead, cadmium, zinc, arsenic, copper and manganese were considered as potential toxic elements (PTEs), and data were obtained on concentrations in soil, water and air as well as in fauna and flora. Finally, once the receptors and the associated risks to the ecosystem and human health were identified, a conceptual model of the contamination was drawn up to consider a management proposal to tackle the problems associated with this area, which would also be applicable to critical mining zones.

show abstract

Section: Water Dispersionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Do Old Mining Areas Represent an Environmental Problem and Health Risk? A Critical Discussion through a Particular Case

2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Treatment processes differ according to AMD chemical composition and purpose. Neutralization is a traditional and widely used method in treating AMD (Kumar et al 2008;Romero et al 2011;Zheng et al 2011;Alakangas et al 2013;Akinwekomi et al 2017Akinwekomi et al , 2020Masindi et al 2019). In this process, calcium hydroxide, limestone, sodium hydroxide or alkaline tailings are commonly used as neutralization reagents.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparative study of acid mine drainage using different neutralization methods

Huang

Yang

2021

Water Practice and Technology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Two-stage acid mine drainage (AMD) neutralization residue yield is 2.57 t/t acid equivalent using limestone and lime, 15.74% less than the 3.05 t/t acid equivalent yield from single-stage, lime, neutralization residue. XRD results shows that the main residue component generated by two-stage neutralization is CaSO4•0.5H2O, with a molecular weight 15.70% lower than the CaSO4•2H2O generated in single-stage neutralization. The differing amount of gypsum crystallization water from the different neutralization processes is the main cause of the different residue yields. While the actual removal rate and pH of Fe3+ are consistent with the theory, those for Zn2+, Cu2+ and Al3+ are inconsistent with the theoretical values, the error rate increasing with increasing pH. Co-precipitation with and adsorption by Fe(OH)3, mainly generated during neutralization, are the main reasons for the difference. The cost of two-stage neutralization is 16.60% less than that of single-stage neutralization when the initial reaction pH is 3.4, but the unit cost begins to increase if the initial reaction pH is raised above 3.4. When the initial pH is 4.0, the cost of two-stage neutralization exceeds that of single-stage neutralization by 4.07%.

show abstract

“…Wei et al demonstrated that high recovery of both metals was possible in lime neutralization systems, albeit at a purity in the low 90% range [33]. The production of high purity iron products from AMD was demonstrated by reprocessing the low purity sludge using nitric acid and potassium hydroxide [34] and alternatively through the usage of high cost soda ash neutralization agent [35]. Both options however require expensive reagents to yield low value products.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Fundamental Economic Assessment of Recovering Rare Earth Elements and Critical Minerals from Acid Mine Drainage Using a Network Sourcing Strategy

et al. 2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In recent years, acid mine drainage (AMD) has emerged as a promising unconventional source of rare earth elements (REEs) and other critical minerals (CMs) such as cobalt and manganese. In this regard, AMD provides a natural heap leaching effect that extracts and concentrates REE/CM from the host strata creating a partially enriched feedstock suitable for downstream extraction, separation, and recovery. While several prior studies have described processes and approaches for the valorization of AMD, very few have described the supply chain and infrastructure requirements as well as the associated economic assessment. To that end, this paper provides a fundamental economic assessment of REE/CM recovery from AMD using a network sourcing strategy in addition to a robust, flexible feedstock separations and refining facility. The methodology of this paper follows that of a typical techno-economic analysis with capital and operating costs estimated using AACE Class IV (FEL-2) guidelines. To demonstrate the range of possible outcomes, four pricing scenarios were modeled including contemporary prices (September, 2021) as well as the minimum and maximum prices over the last decade. In addition, five production scenarios were considered reflecting variations in the product suite, ranging from full elemental separation to magnet REE and CM production only (i.e., Pr, Nd, Tb, Dy, Y, Sc, Co, and Mn). The results of this analysis show that, with the exception of the minimum price scenario, all operational configurations have positive economic indicators with rates of return varying from 25% to 32% for the contemporary price scenario. The optimal configuration was determined to be production of Co, Mn, and all REEs except for mischmetal, which is not recovered. Sensitivity analysis and Monte Carlo simulation show that capital cost and HCl consumption are the two major factors influencing rate of return, thus indicating opportunities for future technology development and cost optimization. Implications of the study and a cooperative profit-sharing model for sourcing are also described.

show abstract

Beneficiation of acid mine drainage (AMD): A viable option for the synthesis of goethite, hematite, magnetite, and gypsum – Gearing towards a circular economy concept

Cited by 41 publications

References 54 publications

Do Old Mining Areas Represent an Environmental Problem and Health Risk? A Critical Discussion through a Particular Case

Do Old Mining Areas Represent an Environmental Problem and Health Risk? A Critical Discussion through a Particular Case

Comparative study of acid mine drainage using different neutralization methods

A Fundamental Economic Assessment of Recovering Rare Earth Elements and Critical Minerals from Acid Mine Drainage Using a Network Sourcing Strategy

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About