Abstract
Contaminated neutral drainage (CND), generated when metals are leached and enough neutralizing minerals are present to keep a near-neutral pH, is a growing environmental concern related to mine waste management. There is a need to find ways to reduce CND generation from mine waste to avoid perpetual effluent treatment. Nickel concentrations at the Lac Tio mine effluent have been sporadically higher than provincial environmental standards. In this project, three different treatment solutions were applied to Lac Tio mine waste rock samples in 70 kg waste rock columns in an attempt to reduce nickel CND generation potential by forcing sulfide oxidation and/or passivation. Following the applications, kinetic tests were used to determine any reduction in sulfide oxidation and nickel leaching. Hydrogen peroxide and sodium silicate were the main products tested, alone and in combination with a sodium bicarbonate buffer. Buffered hydrogen peroxide showed the best potential to reduce CND generation, with nickel release reduced from 1.4 × 10–3 mg/kg/day (untreated) to 4.0 × 10–5 mg/kg/day (treated) and near-neutral pH values. This passivation treatment also reduced the sulfur release rate by more than 50%. Optical and scanning electron microscopy observations supported the laboratory results. To conclude, this research project proposes a new way to reduce the CND generation potential of low sulfide waste rock.
抽象
中性污染废水(CND)在金属滤出并有足够中和矿物保持液体近中性时产生。CND废水正日益成为矿山矸石管理的关注焦点。有必要寻找减少矿山矸石产生CND废水的方法, 避免日后无休止地进行CND废水处理。研究项目用多种加速硫化物氧化或钝化的处理液处理Lac Tio矸石样品, 降低它们产生含镍中性废水的能力。在镍去除处理前 Lac Tio排放废水的镍浓度时常超过省级环境标准。实验首先用处理液处理废矿石, 然后用动力试验法确定硫化物氧化性和浸出镍的减少特性。用内装70 kg废矿石的淋溶柱进行了三种处理液试验。过氧化氢和硅酸钠是被单独或与碳酸氢钠缓冲液一起被检出的主要滤出物。缓冲的过氧化氢具有最好的降低中性污染废水潜力, 镍释放率也从处理前1.4 × 10–3 mg/kg/day降至处理后4.0 × 10−5 mg/kg/day, 溶液pH值接近中性。由于钝化作用, 硫的释放率也较未处理降低一半以上。光学显微镜和扫描电子显微镜的观察都证实了上述实验结果。为此 研究项目提出了一种减弱低硫废矿石产生CND废水潜力的新方法。
Resumen
El drenaje neutral contaminado (CND), generado cuando los metales se lixivian y hay suficientes minerales neutralizantes para mantener un pH casi neutro, es una preocupación ambiental creciente relacionada con el manejo de los desechos mineros. Es necesario encontrar formas de reducir el potencial de generación de CND a partir de los desechos mineros para evitar el tratamiento perpetuo de los efluentes. En este proyecto, se aplicaron diferentes soluciones de tratamiento en las muestras de roca residual de la mina Lac Tio para intentar reducir el potencial de generación de CND de níquel forzando la oxidación y/o pasivación de sulfuro. Las concentraciones de níquel en el efluente de la mina Lac Tio, antes del tratamiento de eliminación de níquel, han sido esporádicamente más altas que las normas ambientales provinciales. El trabajo de laboratorio consistió en aplicar una solución de tratamiento a la roca residual, seguido de pruebas cinéticas para determinar la reducción de la oxidación de sulfuro y la lixiviación de níquel. Se probaron tres soluciones en columnas de roca residual de 70 kg. El peróxido de hidrógeno y el silicato de sodio fueron los principales productos probados, solos o en combinación con un tampón de bicarbonato de sodio. El peróxido de hidrógeno tamponado mostró el mejor potencial para reducir la generación de CND, con una reducción de la tasa de liberación de níquel de 1,4 × 10–3 mg/kg /día (sin tratar) a 4,0 × 10–5 mg/kg/día (tratado) y valores de pH casi neutros. Este tratamiento también redujo la velocidad de liberación de azufre en más de la mitad de la velocidad de liberación no tratada como resultado de la pasivación. Las observaciones de microscopía electrónica y de exploración óptica respaldaron los resultados de laboratorio. Para concluir, este proyecto de investigación propone un nuevo enfoque para reducir el potencial de generación de CND para la roca residual con bajo contenido de sulfuro.
Zusammenfassung
Kontaminiertes, neutrales Sickerwasser (contaminated neutral drainage: CND) entsteht, wenn Metalle freigesetzt werden, aber ausreichend neutralisierende Minerale vorliegen, um den pH-Wert im neutralen Milieu zu halten. CND stellen im Bereich des bergbaulichen Abfallmanagements ein zunehmendes Umweltproblem dar und es gibt einen dringlichen Bedarf an Möglichkeiten zur Vermeidung der dauerhaften Sickerwasserbehandlung durch Reduzierung des Entstehungspotentiales. Im vorliegenden Projekt wurden verschiedene Behandlungsmöglichkeiten auf Abraumproben aus der Lac Tio Mine angewendet. Ziel war die Reduzierung des Entstehungspotentiales nickelhaltigen CNDs durch Verstärkung der Oxidation und/oder Passivierung von Sulfiden. Nickelkonzentrationen im Ablauf der Lac Tio Mine vor der Wasseraufbereitung lagen bisweilen über der einschlägigen Umweltnorm der Provinz. Die Laborexperimente umfassten die Behandlung von Abraumproben mit einer Lösung gefolgt von kinetischen Tests zur Untersuchung der Reduktion von Sulfidoxidation und Nickellaugung. Drei Lösungen wurden auf Säulen mit 70 kg Abraum getestet. In der Hauptsache wurden Wasserstoffperoxid und Natriumsilikate, mit oder ohne Natriumbicarbonat-Puffer, getestet. Gepuffertes Wasserstoffperoxid zeigte das höchste Potential zur Reduzierung der CND-Entstehung mit einer Verringerung der Nickelfreisetzung von 1.4 × 10–3 mg/kg/Tag (unbehandelt) auf 4.0 × 10–5 mg/kg/Tag (behandelt) mit pH-Werten im neutralen Bereich. Auch die Freisetzungsrate für Schwefel wurde infolge der Passivierung um mehr als die Hälfte verringert. Die Laborergebnisse wurden durch Untersuchungen mittels Lichtmikroskopie und Rasterelektronenmikroskopie gestützt. Schlussfolgernd wird mit dem vorliegenden Forschungsprojekt eine neue Herangehensweise zur Reduzierung des CND-Entstehungspotentials für Abraum mit geringen Sulfidgehalten vorgeschlagen
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Acknowledgements
The authors thank the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada’s Collaborative Research and Development program for the financial support and Rio Tinto Iron and Titanium for their partnership with UQAT and making advanced research with Lac Tio mine site possible.
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Roy, V., Demers, I., Plante, B. et al. Kinetic Testing for Oxidation Acceleration and Passivation of Sulfides in Waste Rock Piles to Reduce Contaminated Neutral Drainage Generation Potential. Mine Water Environ 39, 242–255 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10230-020-00680-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10230-020-00680-z