Petia Genova1, Katerina Nikolova1, Anatoliy Angenov1, Svetlana Bratkova1, Nato Mirdzveli2
1University of Mining and Geology “St. Ivan Rilski”, 1700 Sofia; Bulgaria
2 Petre Melikishvili Institute of Physical and Organic Chemistry, I. Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University, 1086, Tbilisi, Georgia
Corresponding author: Svetlana Bratkova, E-mail: s_bratkova@mgu.bg
ABSTRACT. One of the commonly used methods for removing sulphates from mine waters is the precipitation. The classical approach for the treatment of acid mine drainage (AMD) rich in heavy metals and sulphates at about of 2000 mg/L is based on using Ba added in different forms – Ba(Cl)2, Ba(OH)2, BaCO3, BaS. In the present study, barite precipitation with the use of BaS was implemented in a laboratory installation in continuous mode. The scheme of the installation includes series-connected chemical reactors and settlers, which allows the sequential implementation of three processes – liming, barite precipitation and recarbonation. Real AMD containing high concentrations of sulphates and heavy metals has been effectively treated by the laboratory installation. The application of BaS effectively reduces the concentration of sulphates below 200 mg/L and the electrical conductivity of the treated waters is significantly reduced.
Key words: AMD, barite precipitation, sulphates, heavy metals.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.58903/u17190828
BARITE PRECIPITATION FOR TREATMENT OF MINE WATERS WITH HIGH SULPHATE CONCENTRATIONS
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