Waiting for the snow to melt…
At the 2008 ASMR conference, data from the initial two months of operation of a U.S. EPA pilot biochemical reactor (BCR) was reported. The BCR was designed and constructed in August, 2007 to treat mining influenced water (MIW) emanating from an adit at a remote site in southern Colorado. The original objective of the study was to operate and monitor a BCR on a year-round basis in a harsh mountain environment. In the second year, a pilot chitin reactor was constructed for manganese removal. The treatment results from 13 months of BCR operation and 2 months of chitin reactor are presented. The treatment goal for the two pilot reactors was to determine compliance with the applicable surface water quality standards for the State of Colorado. Several attributes of the treatment and monitoring system were unique. It was constructed at an elevation of 11,000 feet a.m.s.l. (3,353 meters), was designed to operate year-round, and was totally passive, using solar energy for the monitoring system and pump power. Due to the site being inaccessible during winter months, this remote monitoring system was designed to collect samples and monitor field variables through the winter months. Field variables were measured and stored by Hydrolab™ sondes. Influent and effluent water quality samples were collected and stored in Teledyne™ ISCO™ 6712 samplers. For the first year of operation, the field variable data were transmitted via Stratolink™ satellite communicators. Due to operational issues, the Stratolink™ units were replaced with satellite phones in September 2008. The contaminants of concern (COCs) in the MIW are cadmium, copper, iron, lead, manganese, and zinc. BCR metal removal rates averaged approximately 98% over the first year of operation for cadmium, copper, lead, and zinc. Despite these high removal rates, the BCR effluent exceeded the applicable water quality standards for cadmium, lead, and zinc. Iron and manganese removal rates varied over the first year of BCR operation and were not sufficient to achieve the applicable water quality standards. The removal of manganese by the chitin reactor was inconsistent with an average percent removal rate of 23% over the first two months of operation. Since data are limited on biochemical and chitin reactors operating in elevated and harsh winter locations, the acquired data are unique for MIW remediation. Additional Keywords: ARD, MIW, biochemical reactor, BCR, sulfate reducing bioreactor, SRB, chitorem® BCR , chitin, satellite data transmission, heavy metals remediation, passive treatment, Green Remediation
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