Effectiveness of carbon active processed from coal in treating the acid mine drainage at a laboratory scale

Abstract

Low to medium calorie coal reserves dominate Indonesia area. Referring to such amount, the potential for coal synthesis into activated carbon is also massive. The potential utilization of activated carbon from coal to process the acid mine drainage is still developing. This research aims to see the effect of activated carbon to the acid mine drainage from coal mining in a laboratory scale using a weight basis and the contact time between activated carbon and acid mine drainage. The sample is taken from one of the mining locations in East Kalimantan Province. The results showed the effect of the activated carbon weight changes in its pH value, which indicated an increase in pH from 2.19 to a decrease in Fe metal content from 45.2 to 0.1 mg/L and a decrease Mn metal content from 7.22 to 5.3 mg/L. The activated carbon from coal is very effective as an adsorbent for Fe metal but less effective for Mn metal.