Electrobiological reduction for low level selenium removal from mine water and reverse osmosis brine

摘要

Laboratory-scale assessment of an electro-biochemical reactor (EBR) system was performed to determine its potential ability to meet a 1 ug/L mine effluent threshold for selenium (Se) at the Boinas gold mine in Asturias, Spain. The EBR process is differentiated from conventional biologically-mediated reduction through the administration of a constant low uAmp-level current to overcome rate-1 imitations associated with electron demand. Trials performed using Boinas mine water and RO brine containing Se at 40 ug/L and >200 ug/L respectively yielded post-treatment concentrations of between 0.1 and 0.05 ug/L in mine water and <2 ug/L in RO brine. Based on these results, EBR may offer both improved performance and significant Opex savings relative to the existing reverse osmosis treatment system deployed at Boinas mine.