METHOD FOR PURIFYING MINE DRAINAGE OR INDUSTRIAL WASTEWATER AND STABILIZING MINE WASTE USING APATITE

摘要

A method for purifying mine or industrial wastewater and stabilizing mine waste using apatite is provided to purify the mine or industrial wastewater by immobilizing heavy metals in mine wastewater(acid mine drainage or acid rock drainage) or industrial wastewater to an apatite precipitate stably and promptly at a low cost, and prevent contamination of the soils by insolubilizing mine waste and heavy metals in soils contaminated with the mine waste. A method for purifying mine wastewater comprises consistently passing mine wastewater through a layer of milled apatite with a particle diameter of 4.000 to 0.149 mm at a flow rate of not more than 1 ml/min/kg of apatite for at least one year to immobilize heavy metals with a phosphate precipitate. A method for purifying industrial wastewater comprises passing industrial wastewater through a layer of milled apatite with a particle diameter of 4.000 to 0.149 mm at a flow rate of not more than 1 ml/min/kg of apatite for not more than 3 hours to immobilize heavy metals with a phosphate precipitate. A method for stabilizing mine waste or soil contaminated with the mine waste comprises adding at least 10 wt.% of milled apatite with a particle diameter of 0.250 to 0.149 mm to the mine waste or the soil contaminated with the mine waste based on the mine waste weight, thereby mixing the milled apatite with the mine waste or the soil contaminated with the mine waste.