Leaching of Heavy Metals from Contaminated Sediment

• Main Authors: M. Balintova, P. Pavlikova, M. Holub, A. Petrilakova
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: AIDIC Servizi S.r.l. 2013-09-01
• Series: Chemical Engineering Transactions
• Online Access: https://www.cetjournal.it/index.php/cet/article/view/6093

The occurrence of acid mine drainage (AMD) is usually associated with mining activities. AMD usually due to low pH (2-5) contains high concentrations of sulphates and heavy metals, which impact surface and groundwater, fauna and flora and lead to serious environmental problems. The partitioning behaviour and spatial distribution of contaminants are highly regulated by hydrodynamics, biogeochemical processes and environmental conditions such as redox, pH, salinity and temperature of the individual system. Heavy metals dissolved in AMD are transported into creek aquatic environment and there are stored in the form of sediments. Those sediments can be transported by the rivers at large distances and due to changing conditions in surrounding environment can contaminate extensive area. The paper deals with the characterization of the sediments influenced by AMD using XRF, FTIR, and XRD methods. The experimental study is aimed on the effect of pH on the leaching of heavy metals and sulphates from these sediments.