Acid mine drainage (AMD) has been one of the critical environmental problems in many coal mining regions in the US with the potential for severe contamination of surface and groundwater and soil. Using this AMD and making it suitable for use in various anthropogenic activities is the main idea of this research. Conventionally, the acidic AMD has been treated by lime neutralization to raise the pH and precipitate dissolved toxic heavy metals. However, this approach does not have any impact on typically high sulfate concentration in the AMD. This study is designed to evaluate the use of nanofiltration (NF) membranes for sulfate removal from AMD. The use of nanofiltration membranes for AMD treatment has been evaluated in the past but the effect of specific ions on the rejection of sulfate by the NF membranes was not addressed. The aim of this study is to understand the effect of ions that are found in AMD on the rejection of sulfate and permeate flux. The effect of calcium, magnesium, sodium and iron has been studied using different commercially available nanofiltration membranes. The membranes were first characterized based on surface charge and functional groups present in the ultrathin barrier layer that is responsible for separation. These membranes were then tested at different feed concentrations and pressures in a cross-flow module using both synthetic and actual AMD. Also, the NF membranes have been used to study the influence of Donnan potential in sulfate ion rejection. The results of the ongoing studies to understand the impact of specific ions on sulfate rejection and permeate flux will be presented at the conference.

Use of nanofiltration membranes for acid mine drainage treatment

251st National Meeting (2016)

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.