Assessment of Characteristics of Acid Mine Drainage Treated with Fly Ash

• Main Authors: Saba Shirin, Aarif Jamal, Christina Emmanouil, Akhilesh Kumar Yadav
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2021-04-01
• Series: Applied Sciences
• Subjects: abandoned mine; fly ash; acid mine drainage; SEM
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/9/3910

Acid mine drainage (AMD) occurs naturally in abandoned coal mines, and it contains hazardous toxic elements in varying concentrations. In the present research, AMD samples collected from an abandoned mine were treated with fly ash samples from four thermal power plants in Singrauli Coalfield in the proximate area, at optimized concentrations. The AMD samples were analyzed for physicochemical parameters and metal content before and after fly ash treatment. Morphological, geochemical and mineralogical characterization of the fly ash was performed using SEM, XRF and XRD. This laboratory-scale investigation indicated that fly ash had appreciable neutralization potential, increasing AMD pH and decreasing elemental and sulfate concentrations. Therefore, fly ash may be effectively used for AMD neutralization, and its suitability for the management of coalfield AMD pits should be assessed further.