Assessment of the Suitability of Selected Organic Waste for Improving Acid Mine Drainage Treatment in Tanzania

Abstract

One of the most serious environmental issues associated with mining operations is the generation of acidic mine drainage (AMD), which contains low pH, dissolved metals, and sulphate. The aimed of this was to assess the suitability of locally available organic wastes for improving acid mine drainage treatment. In this study, four containers as reactors containing cow manure (S1), chicken manure (S2), sawdust (S3), and a mixture (S4) of S1, S2, and S3 were used as the organic wastes for anaerobically treating AMD. This study revealed that the pH increased from 3.1 to 7.6 in all reactors and the highest sulfate removal (95%) was observed in the mixed organic waste reactor (S4). Similarly, a high percentage of Mn removal of >84% was observed in all reactors, while this study also found poor removal of zinc in S3 at 22%. In general, this study showed that the mixture of different organic waste sources improved the removal efficiency of Zn by 73%. The results obtained give a promised using of available organic waste as better technology option for treatment of AMD water from mining operations.