Semester

Fall

Date of Graduation

2020

Document Type

Problem/Project Report

Degree Type

MS

College

Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources

Department

Civil and Environmental Engineering

Committee Chair

John Quaranta

Committee Member

Hema Siriwardane

Committee Member

Horng-Jyh (Tigra) Yang

Committee Member

Lian-Shin Lin

Abstract

Acid Mine Drainage (AMD), also known as alkaline mine drainage resulted from abandoned and active coal mining areas has been a major water pollutant in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States affecting aquatic life, recreational areas, tourism, etc. AMD results from during and post mining activities all around the US and the world containing high levels of acidic materials such as sulfate and other heavy metals.

The United States Environmental Protecting Agency (EPA) has recommended the use of different mechanisms for mitigation purposes due to considerable existing and potential damage generated by AMD. This report focuses on the usage of geotextile bags/tubes as a filtration tool in order to retain as much solids from an AMD sample while maximizing its dewatering capacity following methods and assumptions developed by (Weggel and Ward, 2011).

The purpose of this study is to develop a solution tool to predict filter cake formation, and to perform extensive filtration testing of AMD slurries, identifying of a competent geotextile material for filtration purposes for the proposed AMD slurries, and identifying supplemental behavioral data in order to maximize filtration performance

The solution tool is only successful in predicting filter cake thickness comprising materials with high amounts of coarse particles. On the other hand, for materials with high amounts of fines such as the AMD sludges being dewatered in this report, the solution tool is not capable of predicting an accurate filter cake thickness. Optimum results regarding filtration efficiency (retained solids/total solids) by using a non-woven geotextile material produced by Tencate referred to as Mirafi 1100N. Filtration efficiencies ranged between 92% and 100%.

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