Acid mine drainage Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Acid mine drainage - Essay Example This analysis will help to pin point the source of acid mine, whether it is coming from the spoil heap or mine adit. This information can be used to devise remediation measures in order to reduce the damage on the environment-river pollution. Knowledge of acid mine drainage is not only significant to authorities tasked with environmental protection but also to consultancy agencies in acid mine drainage. Lastly, mining companies need to reduce the damage to the environment by employing technologies for proper treatment of their discharges. Wetlands engineering can reduce the damages of acid mine aquatic plants and animals. It is theorized that building wetlands can mitigate AMD pollution and have lower or no future operations and maintenance costs. Acid mine drainage can be defined as both ground and surface waters of pH is ≠¤ 4.5. The Acid mine drainage is mainly caused by the oxidation reaction of surface waters with pyrite containing rocks or ores. Sulphate is found almost everywhere on this earth even in natural fresh waters (Drever, 1997). It is usually the second or third most abundant anion in rainwater, where it is derived both from natural aquatic sources and from atmospheric pollution - the sulphur component of â€Å"acid rain† as a result of fossil fuel combustion. Apart from human activities, pyrite oxidation also produces acidity, enhancing other weathering reactions. Such as, production of waters with very low pH and high sulphate concentration as a result of buffering the PH. Sulphate available comes from many anthropogenic sources: they can be coming from farms and agricultural sources. Sulphate fertilizes could be chief source of such contaminants. Sometimes they can come from other cleaning agents agents; and industrial point emissions of sulphuric acid utilised in manufacturing. Understanding the geochemical