Abstract
The river Teign in Devon has come under scrutiny for failing to meet environmental quality standards for ecotoxic metals due to past mining operations. A disused mine known as Bridford Barytes mine, has been found to contribute a significant source of Zn, Cd and Pb to the river. Recently, studies have been focused on the remediation of such mine sites using low-cost treatment methods to help reduce metal loads to the river downstream. This paper explores the metal removal efficiency of red mud, a waste product from the aluminium industry, which has proven to be an attractive low-cost treatment method for adsorbing toxic metals. Adsorption kinetics and capacity experiments reveal metal removal efficiencies of up to 70% within the first 2 h when red mud is applied in pelletized form. Further, it highlights the potential of biochar, another effective adsorbent observed to remove >90% Zn using agricultural feedstock. Compliance of the Teign has been investigated by analysing dissolved metal concentrations and bioavailable fractions of Zn to assess if levels are of environmental concern. By applying a real-world application model, this study reveals that compressed pellets and agricultural biochar offer an effective, low-cost option to reducing metal concentrations and thus improving the quality of the river Teign.
DOI
10.3390/min10080721
Publication Date
2020-08-17
Publication Title
Minerals
Volume
10
Issue
8
Embargo Period
2020-09-18
Organisational Unit
School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.
First Page
721
Last Page
721
Recommended Citation
Jordan, A., Hill, R., Turner, A., Roberts, T., & Comber, S. (2020) 'Assessing Options for Remediation of Contaminated Mine Site Drainage Entering the River Teign, Southwest England', Minerals, 10(8), pp. 721-721. Available at: https://doi.org/10.3390/min10080721
