Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-t5tsf Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-13T01:57:38.820Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Site-specific P absorbency of ochre from acid mine-drainage near an abandoned Cu-S mine in the Avoca—Avonmore catchment, Ireland

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 July 2018

O. Fenton ,
M. G. Healy ,
M. Rodgers  and
D. O Huallacháin
O. Fenton*
Affiliation:
Teagasc, Johnstown Castle, Environmental Research Centre, Co Wexford, Ireland
M. G. Healy
Affiliation:
Department of Civil Engineering, National University of Ireland, Galway, Ireland
M. Rodgers
Affiliation:
Department of Civil Engineering, National University of Ireland, Galway, Ireland
D. O Huallacháin
Affiliation:
Teagasc, Johnstown Castle, Environmental Research Centre, Co Wexford, Ireland
*
*E-mail: owen.fenton@teagasc.ie
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Acid mine-drainage from an abandoned Cu-S mine adit, located in the Avoca–Avonmore catchment in the southeast of Ireland, results in low-value ochre deposition. Ochre found on-site had similar physical (particle size 97.7% <2 mm and dry bulk density 0.8 g cm3), but dissimilar maximum P-retention characteristics (16–21 g P kg–1) to coal-mining ochre found in the UK. Stereomicroscopy identified oolites and diatoms in the ochre that were indicative of acidic environments. X-ray diffraction showed Fe mineralogy consisting of goethite, jarosite and minor amounts of ferrihydrite. Investigations by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry and bulk energy-dispersive spectroscopy showed potentially toxic concentrations of Fe, Zn, Pb, As and Cu. Rapid mobilization of metals occurred during P-adsorption tests, which makes Avoca ochre unsuitable for use in a surface-water environmental technology.

Keywords

acid mine-drainageochrephosphorusAvoca–Avonmore catchmentIreland
Type
Research Article
Information
Clay Minerals , Volume 44 , Issue 1 , March 2009 , pp. 113 - 123
Copyright
Copyright © The Mineralogical Society of Great Britain and Ireland 2009

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Allen, D.G. & Jeffery, R.C. (1990) Methods of analysis of phosphorus in Western Australian soils. Report of Investigation No. 37. Chemistry Centre (WA), East Perth.Google Scholar
Bigham, J.M., Schwertmann, U. & Carlson, L. (1992) Mineralogy of precipitates formed by the biogeochemical oxidation of Fe(II) in mine drainage. Pp. 219–232 in: Biomineralisation Processes of Iron and Manganese: Modern and Ancient Environments (Skinner, H.C.W. and Fitzpatrick, R.W., editors). Catena-Verlag, Cremlingen-Destedt, Germany.Google Scholar
Bigham, J.M., Schwertmann, U., Traina, S.J., Winland, R.L. & Wolf, M. (1996) Schwertmannite and the chemical modeling of iron in acid sulfate waters. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 60, 2111–2121.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bozika, E. (2001) Phosphorus removal from wastewater using sludge from mine drainage treatment settling ponds. MSc thesis, University of Edinburgh, UK.Google Scholar
Carlson, L. & Schwertmann, U. (2005) The pHdependent transformation of schwertmannite to goethite at 25°C. Clay Minerals, 40, 63–66.Google Scholar
DeNicola, D.M. (2000) A review of diatoms found in highly acidic environments. Hydrobiologia, 433, 111–122.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dobbie, K.E., Heal, K.V. & Smith, K.A. (2005) Assessing the performance of phosphorus saturated ochre as a fertilizer and its environmental acceptability. Soil Use and Management, 21, 231–239.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Doyle, A., O'Connor, P., Harrington, D., Roche, W. & Johnstone, N. (2007) International partnership addressing heritage potential and remediation of mine drainage impacts on the River Avoca (Ireland) and at Amlwch (Wales). Pp. 177–180 in: IMWA—International Mine Water Symposium: Water in Mining Environments (Cidu, R. & Frau, F., editors). Cagliari, Italy, 27-31 May 2007.Google Scholar
Fay, D., Kramers, G., Zhang, C., McGrath, D. & Grennan, E. (2007) Soil Geochemical Atlas of Ireland. Teagasc and the Environmental Protection Agency, Wexford, Ireland.Google Scholar
Fenton, O., Healy, M.G. & Rodgers, M. (2009) Use of ochre from an abandoned metal mine in the south east of Ireland for phosphorus sequestration from dairy dirty water. Journal of Environmental Quality, 38, 1120–1125.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Froelich, P.N. (1988) Kinetic control of dissolved phosphate in natural rivers and estuaries: a primer on the phosphate buffer mechanism. Limnology and Oceanography, 33, 649–668.Google Scholar
Gallagher, V. & O'Connor, P. (1999) The Avoca mine site. Biology and Environment: Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy, 99, 43–57.Google Scholar
Goldberg, S. & Sposito, G. (1984) A chemical model of phosphate adsorption by soils: I. reference oxide minerals. Soil Science Society of America Journal, 48, 772–778.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hancock, S. (2005) Quantifying ochre arisings: Output from the UK Coal Authority's Mine Water Treatment sites. Pp. 395–402 in: 9th International Mine Water Congress, Asturias, Spain.Google Scholar
Heal, K.V., Smith, K.A., Younger, P.L., McHaffie, H. & Batty, L.C. (2004) Removing phosphorus from sewage effluent and agricultural runoff using recovered ochre. Pp. 321–335 in: Phosphorus in Environmental Technology (Valsami-Jone, E., editor). IWA Publishing, London.Google Scholar
McBride, M.B. (2000) Chemisorption and precipitation reactions. Pp. B265–B302 in: Handbook of Soil Science (Sumner, M.E., editor). CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida.Google Scholar
Murad, E. & Rojik, P. (2004) Jarosite, schwertmannite, goethite, ferrihydrite and lepidocrocite: the legacy of coal and sulphide ore mining. SuperSoil 2004: 3rd Australian New Zealand Soils Conference, University of Sydney, Australia. http://www.regional.org.au/au/asssi/supersoil2004/sl/oral/1088_murade.htm. Accessed September, 2008.Google Scholar
Murad, E. & Rojik, P. (2005) Iron mineralogy of mine-drainage precipitates as environmental indicators: review of current concepts and a case study from the Sokolov Basin, Czech Republic. Clay Minerals, 40, 427–440.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
O'Sullivan, A.D. (2005) Ireland-How green is the emerald isle? Consequences of mining in receiving waters. Mine Water and the Environment, 24, 17–18.Google Scholar
Parfitt, R.L. (1989) Phosphate reactions with natural allophane, ferrihydrite and goethite. European Journal of Soil Science, 40, 359–369.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Poots, V.J.P., McKay, G. & Healy, J.J. (1976) Basic dye adsorption on peat. The Scientific Proceedings of the Royal Dublin Society. Series A 6. The Royal Dublin Society, Dublin, 61-76.Google Scholar
Potapova, M. & Charles, D.F. (2007) Diatom metrics for monitoring eutrophication in rivers of the United States. Ecological Indicators, 7, 48–70.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schwertmann, U. & Taylor, R.M. (1989) Minerals in Soil Environments.. Pp. 379–438. Soil Science Society of America Book Series No. 1, Madison, Wisconsin, USA.Google Scholar
Sharpley, A. (2000) Soil fertility and plant nutritionphosphorus availability. Pp. D18—D33 in: Soil Science (Sumner, M.E., editor). CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida, USA.Google Scholar
Singh, B., Harris, P.J. & Wilson, M.J. (1997) Geochemistry of acid mine waters and the role of micro-organisms in such environments: a review. Advances in GeoEcology, 30, 159–192.Google Scholar
Singh, B., Wilson, M.J., McHardy, W.J., Fraser, A.R. & Merrington, G. (1999) Mineralogy and chemistry of ochre sediments from an acid drainage near a disused mine in Cornwall, UK. Clay Minerals, 34, 301–317.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tessier, A., Rapin, F. & Carignan, R. (1985) Trace metals in oxic lake sediments: possible adsorption onto iron oxyyhydroxides. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Ada, 49, 183–194.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tison, J., Giraudel, J.L. & Coste, M. (2007) Evaluating the ecological status of rivers using an index of ecological distance: An application to diatom communities. Ecological Indicators, 8, 285–291.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Toner, P., Bowman, J., Clabby, K., Lucey, J., McGarrigle, M., Concannon, C., Clenaghan, C., Cunningham, P., Delaney, J., O'Boyle, S., MacGarthaigh, M., Craig, M. & Quinn, R. (2005) Water Quality in Ireland. Environmental Protection Agency, Wexford.Google Scholar
Williams, F.M., Sheppard, W.A. & McArdle, P. (1986) Geology and Genesis of Mineral Deposits in Ireland, pp. 49–69. Irish Association for Economic Geology, Dublin.Google Scholar
Williams, F.M., Bigham, J.M., Cravotta, C.A.I., Traina, S. J., Anderson, J. E. & Lyon, J.G. (2002) Assessing mine drainage pH from the colour and spectral reflectance of chemical precipitates. Applied Geochemistry, 17, 1273–1286.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yau, H. & Gray, N.F. (2005) Riverine sediment metal concentrations of the Avoca— Avonmore Catchment, South East, Ireland: A baseline assessment. Biology and Environment: Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy, 105B, 95–106.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yee, N., Shaw, S., Benning, L.G. & Hien Nguyen, T. (2006) The rate of ferrihydrite transformation to goethite via the Fe(II) pathway. American Mineralogist, 91, 92–96.CrossRefGoogle Scholar