Treatment of acid mine drainage by sulfate reducing bacteria with iron in bench scale runs

In order to treat acid mine drainage (AMD) effectively using sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) at high concentration of sulfate and heavy metals, Fe was added to enhance the activity of SRB. When AMD was treated by SRB and Fe-0 at 25 degrees C, more than 61% of sulfate was removed and the effluent pH was improved from 2.75 to 6.20 during the operation. Cu2+ was removed effectively with the removal efficiency at 99%, while only 86% of Fe2+ was removed during the AMD treatment, without conspicuous change of Mn2+ in the effluent in the process. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.