New method developed to mitigate acid mine drainage in coal mines of NE

GUWAHATI: Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati (IIT-G) researchers have carried out a study of coal mines on the 'bioremediation' of Acid Mine Drainage (AMD) in constructed wetlands. This is the first study to demonstrate the bioremediation of AMD from the Northeastern Coalfields (NEC) using constructed wetlands.

This research provides an efficient sustainable treatment approach to mitigate AMD pollution while addressing the long-term operational sustainability issues encountered in Constructed Wetlands receiving AMD. Furthermore, a biochemical mechanism has been developed to understand the functioning of different fundamental processes that co-occur in Constructed Wetlands.

The key benefits of this research include optimization of parameters with the use of simple organic carbon to provide an effective sustainable solution for the mitigation of AMD pollution. The research was led by Prof. Saswati Chakraborty, Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Guwahati, along with her Research Scholar Shweta Singh who studied the season-wise variation (Monsoon, Pre-Monsoon and Post-Monsoon) of AMD discharge in NEC. The research team has conducted a laboratory-scale study in which preliminary findings demonstrated its potential for field-scale applications at the NEC for direct mine drainage.

Highlighting the impact of the research, Prof. Saswati Chakraborty, Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Guwahati, said, "The preliminary findings from this research propose an effective strategy to manage the extremely acidic AMD from the NEC, which remains to be a challenging source of water pollution and environmental contamination due to mining activity in this region."

In this study, simple and low-cost, easily available carbon source (lactate) is used for remediation of AMD wastewater, stated a press release.

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