Pervious Concrete for Treatment of Acid Mine Drainage at a Former Strip Mine in Southeast Ohio: Removal of Metals, Total Suspended Solids, and Nutrients
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Date
2025-05
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The Ohio State University
Abstract
Pollution resulting from ongoing and abandoned mining operations, known as acid mine drainage (AMD), is a persistent issue that causes significant ecological, human health, and financial impacts. Current AMD treatment methods are suboptimal since they (1) produce sludge as a by-product (e.g., active treatment methods such as chemical dosing) that results in costly disposal or (2) require expensive initial start-up costs and specific conditions to function optimally (passive treatment methods such as anaerobic wetlands) (Johnson & Hallberg, 2005; Skousen et al., 2016). Pervious concrete filters could provide a suitable alternative due to their low cost and ease of use in various AMD ditch, stream, or pond settings. In a previous study, pervious concrete mix designs were optimized for AMD neutralization and subsequent precipitation of heavy metals. In the current project, a pervious concrete filter was installed in an AMD-impacted stream at The Wilds near Cumberland, Ohio. Time-paced water samples were collected immediately upstream and downstream of the filter using automated samplers to assess total suspended solids (TSS), metals, and nutrients concentrations to benchmark filter effectiveness in a field-scale setting. Laboratory analysis of the samples showed significantly increased concentrations for TSS, total phosphorus (TP), and orthophosphate (PO4-P) downstream of the filter, no significant difference in concentrations between sampling locations for nitrate-nitrogen (NO3-N) and total nitrogen (TN), and significantly elevated levels of all metal concentrations downstream of the filter. Furthermore, the durability and longevity of the filter was observed to be highly susceptible to the freeze/thaw cycles common in winter in Ohio, greatly decreasing its structural integrity as a result. After one year of function, the filter suffered from severe structural integrity issues due to presumed frost heave and was no longer useful, suggesting that this type of filter may be better utilized in central latitudes. Nonetheless, data obtained from the project can be utilized to improve and further the development of novel treatment techniques for AMD-impacted waters around the world.
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Keywords
AMD, neutralization, precipitation, environmental remediation, water quality, in-stream filter