Filtros de solo, laterita e calcário para remoção de arsênio em águas de drenagem ácida

• Autor(a) principal: Veloso, Renato Welmer
• Data de Publicação: 2009
• Tipo de documento: Dissertação
• Idioma: por
• Título da fonte: LOCUS Repositório Institucional da UFV
• Texto Completo: http://locus.ufv.br/handle/123456789/5432
• topic: Brita de calcário; Adsorção; Sedimentos Laterita; Limestone gravel; Adsorption; Laterite sediment; CNPQ::CIENCIAS AGRARIAS::AGRONOMIA::CIENCIA DO SOLO

Sulfides exposition to atmosphere promotes its oxidation resulting in acid drainage and mobilization of heavy metals and metalloids in water. Arsenic (As) mobilization can be a serious problem due to anthropogenic activities in the presence of sulfide minerals such as arsenopyrite (FeAsS). The use of limestone gravel is a common practice to neutralize the acid drainage. In this process, mobilization of metals and metaloids is decreased by precipitation, co-precipitation or adsorption onto recently precipitated Fe oxides. In this work, the efficiency of limestone filters for As remotion from water and neutralization of acid drainage was evaluated under field conditions. Arsenic stability in sediments next to a gold exploitation area was evaluated by sequential extraction chemical analyzes. The efficiency of horizontal filters prototypes, containing soil materials combined with limestone, for acidity neutralization and As remotion from acid solutions, was also evaluated in laboratory. Water and sediment samples were collected from creeks in area close to a gold mineralization. Water samples were collected during wet and dry seasons, while sediments were collected only during the wet season. Measurements of pH, Eh, electric conductivity (EC), dissolved oxygen and temperature were registered immediately after water sampling and As concentrations were determined in laboratory. In sediment samples, it was determined texture, particle density, remaining As, organic carbon (OC); As, Al, Ca, Mg and P contents extracted by Mehlich-3, pH in water, potential acidity, As sequential extractions and total contents of As and Fe. In order to evaluate the prototypes, in laboratory, acid solutionswith approximately 58 mg L-1 As were applied throughout PVC modules filled with Laterite (LAT), an Oxisoil (SOLO), a 3:1 mixture of SOLO and organic waste (SOLO+RO), and with limestone gravel (BRITA). Twelve filtration cycles, totalizing applications of 6.2, 67.21, 99.74, 20.22, 10.13 g As, Fe, S, Mg and Ca per filter, respectively, were performed. The residence time of the solution in the filters, as well as pH, CE, acidity and As, Fe, S, Mg and Ca contents in the input and output solutions were monitored. In the field, contents of As in water samples were low, except in two points which presented values above 100 ug L-1. There was not a consistent behavior for As in water samples respective to the collection time, but it could be observed a trend to decrease As concentrations during dry season. In general, As content in sediments was related to the organic matter content. It was observed that sediments and limestone filters play an important role in As mobility in water streams affected by acid drainage. Arsenic was mainly associated to stable fractions of the sediments, with a mean of 58% of the As linked to Fe oxides and residual fractions, which present practically null mobility. In the laboratory, prototypes of limestone gravel filters removed approximately 26 and 23% of the As and Fe applied, respectively. There was no significant sulfate removing or pH alteration in the filtered solutions for all prototypes. However, significant levels of the total acidity neutralization were observed, directly related to the residence time. Prototypes with SOLO+RO presented the highest residence times. The use of soil containing filters associated to limestone filters removed 2.6 and 2.45 times the As and Fe, respectively, removed by the limestone filter. The prototype LAT/BRITA/SOLO presented highest As removal capacity, around 70% of the applied As, and the highest As removal rate, by 1.2 mg min-¹, among soil containing filters. However, the residence time was higher to the filters containing soil materials than to the limestone filters. This can be a disadvantage to the use of soil filters. Notwithstanding, the use of soil materials combined with limestone can be an important strategy to increase the safety of the systems for As removal and acid drainage neutralization during rainy season.