BIODIESEL WASTE FLUID AS AN INEXPENSIVE CARBON SOURCE FOR BIOREACTORS TREATING ACID MINE DRAINAGE (CALIFORNIA-NEVADA, UNITED STATES)

摘要

Acid drainage remains the largest source of environmental pollution from mining in the western United States. An un-related waste material, the fluid left after production of biodiesel fuel, is becoming a disposal issue as more biodiesel is manufactured. Semi-passive bioreactors treating acid mine drainage waters may be able to use the waste from biodiesel production as a feed for the sulfate-reducing bacteria cultivated in reactors, thus involving one waste material in the remediation of another. The success of laboratory columns using biodiesel waste led to a limited field experiment at a reactor treating acid-mine drainage in the state of California, U.S.