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AssigneeUniversity of the Free State
InventorsEsta Van Heerden, Julio Hernandez Castillo, Alba Gomez, Rohan Posthumus, Walter George Van Der Hoven
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The present invention relates to a treatment system having a barium carbonate (BaCO3) dispersed alkaline substrate (BDAS) for use in the remediation or at least partial remediation of mine drainage (MD) and/or environmental media contaminated with a source of MD. The invention utilizes chemical, biological and combined treatment systems remove high concentrations of sulfates, hardness, heavy metals and N-compounds, that may exist in the MD as well as high concentrations of alkalinity produced during the remediation process. The invention further extends to a process for treating MD and/or environmental media contaminated with MD and to an apparatus for use in this process.
A fixed-film bioreactor for bio-remediation, or at least partial bio-remediation, of environmental media contaminated with a source of mine drainage (MD), and wherein the bioreactor is a down-flow reactor with a supernatant open to the atmosphere in order to maximize iron oxidation and to minimize iron (II) mobility in the bioreactor, said fixed-film bioreactor including:
A process for the bioremediation, or at least partial bioremediation, of environmental media contaminated with MD, wherein the process includes the step of removing environmental media from a mine drainage contaminated site and exposing the environmental media to a mixture including an indigenous microbial consortium of microorganisms from MD, wood chips as a minimal source of electron donor, and a dispersed alkaline substrate including dispersed barium carbonate BaCO3, allowing for the chemically and biologically mediated precipitation of sulfate, nitrate, phosphate and metals.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.