Surface-strip coal mine land rehabilitation planning in South Africa and Australia: Maturity and opportunities for improvement

Weyer, Vanessa D.; Truter, Wayne Frederick; Lechner, Alex M.; Unger, C J

doi:10.1016/j.resourpol.2017.09.013

Cited by 7 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 17 publications

(21 reference statements)

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“…When left for extended periods, these discard dumps tend to be a source of air pollutants and, following precipitation leach metal ions from the carbonaceous material into waterways that may lead to acid rock drainage and contamination of recipient water courses and streams (Claassens et al 2006). Land devastation in regions where coal mining has taken place is well documented and serves to emphasise the need for continued effort to develop sound rehabilitation technologies to support re-vegetation and transformation of this disturbed land to a new beneficial condition (Sheoran et al 2010;Limpitlaw and Briel 2015;Weyer et al 2017). Biological rehabilitation has become the strategy of choice and is considered to be economic, safe, more energy efficient and environmentally compatible, and potentially capable of providing a means to convert coal discard to ash and sulphurfree products of value (Reich-Walber et al 1997;Klein et al 2001;Hofrichter and Fakoussa 2001;Machnikowska et al 2002;Sekhohola et al 2013;Cowan et al 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bacterial degradation of coal discard and geologically weathered coal

Olawale

Edeki

Cowan

2020

Int J Coal Sci Technol

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The biodegradation of coal discard is being intensively studied in South Africa in an effort to develop passive methods for the successful revegetation and rehabilitation of waste dumps, to mitigate pollution, and facilitate mine closure. Bacteria were isolated from slurries of coal tailings and diesel-contaminated soil, screened for coal biodegradation competence, characterized, and the colonization and degradation of coal discard and geologically weathered coal investigated using individual isolates and consortia. Ten novel coal-degrading bacterial strains were isolated and characterized, the gene sequences deposited with GenBank, and the (wild-type) strains deposited at Microbial Culture Collection, India. The results from the present work show that bituminous coal discard and geologically weathered coal is used by these isolates as carbon and energy source. Isolated strains and consortia colonized and degraded both coal substrates. Growth rate of the isolates is faster and stationery phase achieved sooner in minimal medium containing geologically weathered coal. This observation suggests that the oxygen-rich weathered coal is a more friable substrate and thus readily colonised and biodegraded. A reduction in mass of substrate is demonstrated for both individual isolates and consortia. The changes in pH and associated media colouration occurred concomitant with formation of humic acid-like (HS) and fulvic acid-like substances (FS) which is confirmed following analysis of these products by FT-IR spectroscopy. It is concluded that preferential metabolism of alkanes from the coal substrates provided the carbon and energy for bacterial growth and transformation of the substrates to HS and FS. Keywords Bacteria Á Biodegradation Á Coal discard Á Humic acid Á Fulvic acid Á FT-IR Á Geologically weathered coal Abbreviations CYP Cytochrome P450 DPA Diphenylamine ECCN EBRU culture collection number FT-IR Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy FA Fulvic acid FS Fulvic acid-like substances HA Humic acid HS Humic acid-like substances LAC Laccase PAH Poly aromatic hydrocarbon Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bacterial degradation of coal discard and geologically weathered coal

Olawale

Edeki

Cowan

2020

Int J Coal Sci Technol

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“…Natural risk sources fall within 7 types: geology, soils, topography, vegetation, hydrology, climate, and land cover. These types conform with the “environmental domain evaluative criteria” defined by Weyer et al (), who emphasized their importance as foundation rehabilitation factors. They influence the potential for rehabilitation failures as well as opportunities because they determine the long‐term viability of land for sufficient ecosystem restoration and are important for building a landscape from the bottom up.…”

Section: Framework Developmentmentioning

confidence: 74%

“…Despite being advocated, rehabilitation risk assessment is however conducted with minimum requirements being met. Weyer et al () found that guidelines and consultants’ approval reports for rehabilitation of surface‐strip coal mines in South Africa and Australia fall between vulnerable and adequate but are not yet resilient. Information is gathered but seldom analyzed, with limited integration and rehabilitation risk determination.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantifying rehabilitation risks for surface‐strip coal mines using a soil compaction Bayesian network in South Africa and Australia: To demonstrate the R²AIN Framework

Weyer

Waal²,

Lechner

et al. 2019

Integr Envir Assess & Manag

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Environmental information is acquired and assessed during the environmental impact assessment process for surface-strip coal mine approval. However, integrating these data and quantifying rehabilitation risk using a holistic multidisciplinary approach is seldom undertaken. We present a rehabilitation risk assessment integrated network (R 2 AIN TM ) framework that can be applied using Bayesian networks (BNs) to integrate and quantify such rehabilitation risks. Our framework has 7 steps, including key integration of rehabilitation risk sources and the quantification of undesired rehabilitation risk events to the final application of mitigation. We demonstrate the framework using a soil compaction BN case study in the Witbank Coalfield, South Africa and the Bowen Basin, Australia. Our approach allows for a probabilistic assessment of rehabilitation risk associated with multidisciplines to be integrated and quantified. Using this method, a site's rehabilitation risk profile can be determined before mining activities commence and the effects of manipulating management actions during later mine phases to reduce risk can be gauged, to aid decision making. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2019;15:190-208. C 2019 SETAC

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“…Land devastation in coal mining sites is well documented and emphasizes the need to invest focused effort in developing sound rehabilitation technologies [ 98 , 99 ]. Various traditional chemical approaches have been proposed to restore contaminated mining soils.…”

Section: Bioremediation Of Contaminated Sites By Native Microorganismsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biotechnology of Microorganisms from Coal Environments: From Environmental Remediation to Energy Production

Akimbekov

Digel

Tastambek

et al. 2022

Biology

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It was generally believed that coal sources are not favorable as live-in habitats for microorganisms due to their recalcitrant chemical nature and negligible decomposition. However, accumulating evidence has revealed the presence of diverse microbial groups in coal environments and their significant metabolic role in coal biogeochemical dynamics and ecosystem functioning. The high oxygen content, organic fractions, and lignin-like structures of lower-rank coals may provide effective means for microbial attack, still representing a greatly unexplored frontier in microbiology. Coal degradation/conversion technology by native bacterial and fungal species has great potential in agricultural development, chemical industry production, and environmental rehabilitation. Furthermore, native microalgal species can offer a sustainable energy source and an excellent bioremediation strategy applicable to coal spill/seam waters. Additionally, the measures of the fate of the microbial community would serve as an indicator of restoration progress on post-coal-mining sites. This review puts forward a comprehensive vision of coal biodegradation and bioprocessing by microorganisms native to coal environments for determining their biotechnological potential and possible applications.

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Surface-strip coal mine land rehabilitation planning in South Africa and Australia: Maturity and opportunities for improvement

Cited by 7 publications

References 17 publications

Bacterial degradation of coal discard and geologically weathered coal

Bacterial degradation of coal discard and geologically weathered coal

Quantifying rehabilitation risks for surface‐strip coal mines using a soil compaction Bayesian network in South Africa and Australia: To demonstrate the R²AIN Framework

Biotechnology of Microorganisms from Coal Environments: From Environmental Remediation to Energy Production

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Surface-strip coal mine land rehabilitation planning in South Africa and Australia: Maturity and opportunities for improvement

Cited by 7 publications

References 17 publications

Bacterial degradation of coal discard and geologically weathered coal

Bacterial degradation of coal discard and geologically weathered coal

Quantifying rehabilitation risks for surface‐strip coal mines using a soil compaction Bayesian network in South Africa and Australia: To demonstrate the R2AIN Framework

Biotechnology of Microorganisms from Coal Environments: From Environmental Remediation to Energy Production

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Quantifying rehabilitation risks for surface‐strip coal mines using a soil compaction Bayesian network in South Africa and Australia: To demonstrate the R²AIN Framework