Experimental study on AMD treatment by SRB biodegradation in a UASB reactor

Abstract

According to the water quality characteristics of acid mine drainage (AMD), sulfate removal from simulated AMD by sulfate reducing bacteria (SRB) was improved in a UASB bioreactor. In the meanwhile, the influences of C/S ratio, pH, temperature, and HRT on sulfate removal rate were analyzed to obtain the optimal operation parameters. The results show that under the optimal operation conditions of C/S = 3.0, pH = 6.5, T = 35°C, and HRT = 10 hours, the maximum removal rate of sulfate (86.3%) is reached with an influent sulfate concentration of 2 000 m/L and an effluent sulfate concentration of 274 mg/L which satisfies the local mine drainage discharge standard (500 mg/L). Different from other traditional desalting technologies, the reduction of salinity is realized in this study by removing sulfate from AMD during SRB biodegradation process.