Acid Mine Drainage: A Challenge or an Opportunity?

Dear Colleagues,

A significant amount of wastewater originating from a few industrial processes is stored in earth dams, lined ponds, and/or landfill sites. Usually, this wastewater is finally disposed of into specially designed evaporation ponds where most of the water is removed through evaporation and a salt pan is left on the pond surface. What is of great concern about brine waste is that waste is produced in large quantities but the industry lacks viable technologies to process this waste. Industrial wastewater is a major threat to groundwater resources and agricultural farmland. There is more pressure on industry to find a solution to industrial wastewater pollution remediation as it is a threat to human health (Buckley, 2005; Raluy, et al., 2006).

Desalination is a widely used method for treating wastewater produced from industrial activities. The desalination process involves the removal of excess salts from saline water, commonly known as brine (SSI Engineers and Environmental, 2010). In industry, brine is a by-product from desalination processes such as reverse osmosis (RO) and electrodialysis (ED). Highly concentrated solutions with high salt loads (brine) and relatively clean water are produced from these processes. Brine can also be produced as waste by industries such as pulp and paper, mining, and nuclear energy. Currently, waste is treated via distillation or evaporation in large ponds or stored in landfill sites, which have traditionally been the first option for the disposal of solid and liquid wastes.

Sludges generated during neutralization are rich in metals such as Fe²⁺, Fe³⁺, Al³⁺, Mn²⁺, Co²⁺, and Ni²⁺, and must be handled as toxic waste (Maree, et al., 2013). Evaporation is normally used for treatment of highly saline solutions. The cost associated with distillation is high, as 2 200 kJ is needed to evaporate 1 kg of water.  There is a need for solutions at lower cost. Could freeze crystallization be an option, since only 330 kJ of energy is needed to freeze 1 kg of water? 

This Special Issue aims to contribute to the recovery of saleable product from mine water with zero waste that need to be disposed of.

Prof. Dr. Johannes Phillippus Maree
Prof. Dr. Elvis E. Fosso-Kankeu
Dr. Kagiso More
Guest Editors

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• water quality
• valuable products
• brine treatment
• sludge processing
• feasibility
• acid mine drainage