Measurement of pore volume, connectivity and clogging of pervious concrete reactive barrier used to treat acid mine drainage

A review of passive acid mine drainage treatment by PRB and LPB: From design, testing, to construction

An extensive volume of acid mine drainage (AMD) generated throughout the mining process has been widely regarded as one of the most catastrophic environmental problems. Surface water and groundwater impacted by pollution exhibit extreme low pH values and elevated sulfate and metal/metalloid concentrations, posing a serious threat to the production efficiency of enterprises, domestic water safety, and the ecological health of the basin. Over the recent years, a plethora of techniques has been developed to address the issue of AMD, encompassing nanofiltration membranes, lime neutralization, and carrier-microencapsulation. Nonetheless, these approaches often come with substantial financial implications and exhibit restricted long-term sustainability. Among the array of choices, the permeable reactive barrier (PRB) system emerges as a noteworthy passive remediation method for AMD. Distinguished by its modest construction expenses and enduring stability, this approach proves particularly well-suited for addressing the environmental challenges posed by abandoned mines. This study undertook a comprehensive evaluation of the PRB systems utilized in the remediation of AMD. Furthermore, it introduced the concept of low permeability barrier, derived from the realm of site-contaminated groundwater management. The strategies pertaining to the selection of materials, the physicochemical aspects influencing long-term efficacy, the intricacies of design and construction, as well as the challenges and prospects inherent in barrier technology, are elaborated upon in this discourse.

A framework for estimating soil water characteristic curve and hydraulic conductivity function of permeable reactive media

The unsaturated behavior of permeable reactive barriers (PRB) is a critical component in predicting the removal efficiency through the adsorption of contaminants. This study investigates the framework to estimate the soil water characteristic curve (SWCC) and hydraulic conductivity function (HCF) for iron oxide-coated sand (IOCS) and zeolite, which are common materials used in PRBs. A multistep outflow (MSO) experiment was performed and the results of the MSO experiment were used to optimize associated parameters in Kosugi's SWCC and HCF. In addition, three scenarios of optimization analysis were investigated to evaluate the best-fitting model for estimating SWCC and HCF. The low root mean square error (RMSE) of fitted parameters indicates the Kosugi model well described the observed suction profiles in MSO experiments. In addition, the lowest RMSE and coefficient of variation suggested the inclusion of the additional parameter β provided the best estimation of the three materials (clean sand, IOCS, and zeolite). The physically reasonable estimation of SWCC and HCF of the three materials from the optimized parameters suggests the proposed framework is a reasonable model for the unsaturated behavior of PRBs.

A critical review of the mechanisms, factors, and performance of pervious concrete to remove contaminants from stormwater runoff

Stormwater can carry pollutants accumulated on impervious surfaces in urban areas into natural water bodies in absence of stormwater quality improvement devices. Pervious concrete (PC) pavement is one of the low-impact development practices introduced for urban flooding prevention and stormwater pollution reduction. PC removes various types of water contaminants. Mechanisms contributing to the water pollution removal capacity of PC can be categorized into three groups: physical, chemical, and biological. Properties of PC such as permeability, porosity, thickness, and adsorption capacity influence removal of all contaminants, although their impact might differ depending on the pollutant properties. Chemical mechanisms include precipitation, co-precipitation, ion and ligand exchange, complexation, diffusion, and sorption. Bulk organics and nutrients are removed primarily by biodegradation. Physical filtration is the primary mechanism to retain suspended solids, although biological activities may have a minor contribution. Release of calcium (Ca2+) and hydroxide (OH-) from hardened cement elevates the effluent pH, which is an environmental concern. However, the pH elevation is also the prime contributor to heavy metals and nutrients removal through precipitation. Specific cementitious materials (e.g., Pozzolans and nanoparticles) and carbonation curing approach are recommended to control effluent pH elevation. Complexation, diffusion, ion solubility, and stability constants are other mechanisms and parameters that influence heavy metal removal. Organic matter availability, electrostatic attraction, temperature, pH, contact time, specific surface area, and roughness of PC pores contribute to the pathogen removal process. Although PC has been found promising in removing various water pollutants, limited salinity removal can be achieved due to the inherent release of Ca2+and OH- from PC.

Removal of Heavy Metals from Acid Mine Drainage by Red Mud-Based Geopolymer Pervious Concrete: Batch and Long-Term Column Studies

Various metal ions in acid mine drainage (AMD) cause environmental pollution. Due to the unique advantages of heavy metal treatment and gelling properties, previous concretes incorporating red mud have attracted extensive attention in AMD passive treatment, which utilises naturally occurring chemicals to cleanse contaminated mine waters with low operating costs. This study aims to develop red mud-based geopolymer pervious concrete as an eco-friendly method to remove heavy metals in AMD. Compared with raw pervious concrete, red mud-based geopolymer pervious concrete improves the purification efficiency of heavy metals. The high rate of acid reduction and metal removal by the geopolymer is attributed to the dissolution of portlandite in red mud. Precipitation of metal hydroxides seems to be the dominant metal removal mechanism. Under optimal conditions (influent pH = 4.0 and the hydraulic retention time = 24 h), red mud-based geopolymer pervious concrete could completely remove Cu(II), Mn(II), Cd(II) and Zn(II) by up to 10 mg/L, 10 mg/L, 1.6 mg/L and 16 mg/L, respectively. When the influent pH is 2.5, the hydrolysis of Fe(III) released from red mud increases the consumption of OH^-. Moreover, when the influent pH is 4.0, the precipitation of CaSO₄ promotes the dissolution of portlandite and metal removal. Therefore, red mud has demonstrated feasibility in the manufacturing of geopolymer-based pervious concrete for purification AMD.

Comparison between sand and clay clogging mechanisms of pervious concrete pavement

Pervious concrete (PC) pavement has been widely accepted as a green infrastructure but is prone to clogging. This study comparatively investigated sand and clay clogging mechanisms of PC and vertical sediment distributions of sand-clogged and clay-clogged PCs. Clay and three sizes of sand were used to clog PC under two exposure methods (no drying and drying). X-ray computed tomography (CT) was used to scan the clogged samples before and after 30 pressure washing cycles. The clogged permeability and permeability after each washing cycle were measured. The clogging patterns of sand depend mainly on sand particle sizes relative to PC pore sizes. The applied fine sand, coarse sand, and medium sand cause easy-passing clogging, surface clogging, and full-depth clogging, respectively. After clay clogging, more than 77% of the total retained clay occurs within the vertical region 24-72 mm below the sample surface; the most clogging (the lowest-permeability layer) occurs at a depth of approximately 48 mm. The dried clay retained within the region 40-120 mm below the surface (especially within the lowest-permeability layer) is hard to wash away because the drying process increases the cohesion of internal clay particles and clay adhesion to the rough, tortuous pore wall of PC. The clogged normalized permeability of 0.154 and permeability recovery ratio of 4.91% in dried clay-clogged samples are lowest among all the samples. However, pressure washing readily washes away the retained undried clay. Accordingly, it is recommended that pressure washing is used to eliminate the clogging effect of dried clay before hot, sunny exposure conditions dry the retained clay. This study provides evidence for developing effective pavement maintenance strategies.