RT Journal Article
T1 Hydrochemical performance and mineralogical evolution of a dispersed alkaline substrate (DAS) remediating the highly polluted acid mine drainage in the full-scale passive treatment of Mina Esperanza (SW Spain)
A1 Caraballo Monge, Manuel Antonio
A1 Macías Suárez, Francisco
A1 Nieto Liñán, José Miguel
A1 Castillo Hernández, Julio Cesar
A1 Quispe Guzmán, Dino Lucio
A1 Ayora, Carlos
AB Acid mine drainage remediation is an unresolved matter in abandoned mining districts around theworld. Development and implementation of passive treatment systems in these areas are commonlyfocused on engineering and water quality aspects. Neoformed mineral phases precipitated within thereactive material of these passive treatments account for the removal of pollutants but also can causeclogging and passivation of the reactive substrate. After 20 months of operation and monitoring, thelimestone-based passive treatment system implemented in Mina Esperanza (SW Spain) was sampledto study the relationship between water chemistry, mineral composition of the neoformed precipitates,and treatment performance. Water chemical profiles show the existence of three precipitation zonescontrolled by Fe, Al, and Zn hydrochemistry and also a migration with time of precipitation zonesdownward into the reactive material. These precipitation zones were also confirmed by a mineral studyperformed on the solid samples where either schwertmannite and goethite or hydrobasaluminite andZn-rich green rust were the mineral phases that controlled the metal removal in the three precipation(Fe, Al, or Zn) zones. Iron and Al precipitates were observed to play a critical role in the time evolutionof the reactive material hydraulic conductivity. Furthermore, Al precipitates passivated to some extentthe limestone grains by armoring, although migration of the Fe precipitation zone and Al redissolutionlater activated the limestone grains. A higher proportion of limestone in the reactive mixture andthe addition of new reagents to the bottom section of the reactive material (to enhance the reducingenvironment and to promote divalent metal removal) are proposed on the basis of this hydrochemicaland mineralogical study for a future design for the Mina Esperanza passive treatment system.
PB Mineralogical Society of America
SN 0003-004X
SN 1945-3027 (electrónico)
YR 2011
FD 2011
LK https://hdl.handle.net/10272/23142
UL https://hdl.handle.net/10272/23142
LA eng
NO Caraballo, M. A., Macias, F., Nieto, J. M., Castillo, J., Quispe, D., & Ayora, C. (2011). Hydrochemical performance and mineralogical evolution of a dispersed alkaline substrate (DAS) remediating the highly polluted acid mine drainage in the full-scale passive treatment of Mina Esperanza (SW Spain). In American Mineralogist (Vol. 96, Issues 8–9, pp. 1270–1277). Mineralogical Society of America. https://doi.org/10.2138/am.2011.3752
NO We gratefully acknowledge Mari Paz Martín, Rafael Carrasco and María José Ruíz, and Cristobal Cantero (Central Research Services of the University of Huelva) for assistance in XRD, ICP-OES, and EPMA, respectively. This study was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Technology through the projects CTM200766724-C02/TECNO and CTM2010-21956-C02 and by the Environmental Council of the Andalusia Regional Government. M.A.C. was financially supported by the Spanish Government with a FPU Ph.D. fellowship. We also thank Richard Wilkin (Associate Editor), Charles Cravotta, and one anonymous reviewer for their comments that significantly improved the quality of this paper.
DS Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Huelva
RD 1 jun 2026