Electrokinetic remediation of manganese and zinc in copper mine tailings

• Published in: Journal of hazardous materials Vol. 365; pp. 905 - 911
• Main Authors: Ortiz-Soto, Rodrigo, Leal, Daniela, Gutierrez, Claudia, Aracena, Alvaro, Rojo, Adrian, Hansen, Henrik K.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier B.V 05-03-2019
• Subjects: Electric field; Electrokinetic remediation; Heavy metal removal; Mine tailings; Soil remediation; Soil remediation; Mine tailings; Electrokinetic remediation; Electric field; Heavy metal removal
• ISSN: 0304-3894; 1873-3336
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2018.11.048

•Electrokinetic remediation was performed with a constant voltage.•Maximum mass removal for manganese and zinc was 31.88% and 17.95%, respectively.•Effect of interaction between electric field and acidification was proven.•Significant mass removal was observed in every experiment for manganese.
The scope of this work is to determine the effect of initial acidity and electric field intensity on the Electrokinetic Remediation of manganese and zinc from mine tailings from a Chilean copper mine. To achieve this objective, experiments were carried out focusing on the effect of the applied electric field (1 and 2 V cm−1), the H2SO4 concentration during pretreatment (1 and 2 mol L−1) and the interaction between these factors in manganese and zinc concentration. From the obtained results, manganese and zinc can be removed from the analyzed tailings, with the maximum net removal 31.88% and 17.95%, respectively. The enhancement of electromigration was proven by an Analysis of Variance with a significance level of 10% for the soluble and total metal concentration in the cathodic zone, where total concentration was increased to 24% and 11% for zinc and manganese, respectively.