Feasibility of biochar as an adsorbent for metals in complex mixtures of mining effluent**

这项合作的重点是开发处理采矿废水的“绿色”工艺。在这些过程中，废水用可持续的生物吸附剂处理，理想情况下，“废”吸附剂可用于土壤改良剂。传统的脱除尾矿中污染物的方法有化学加成法、离子交换法、膜法、生物法和吸附法。离子交换和膜系统需要专门开发的树脂/膜，增加了与系统相关的成本。就化学品的毒性和产生的污泥的处置而言，添加化学品的成本很高。由于加工时间和无法处理金属，生物工艺在操作和经济上都是令人望而却步的。在偏远或农村地区，吸附过程是有吸引力的替代办法，在这些地区，与运输化学品/用品相关的成本很高，处置选择有限。这项工作寻求使用“绿色”工艺来经济有效地去除NH3和As。使用生物炭作为吸附剂是用另一种操作产生的未充分利用的副产品(林业残渣热解产生的生物炭)处理一种副产流的一个例子。此外，“用过的”生物炭有可能被整合到现有的尾矿管理计划中。这项工作将有可能应用于其他采矿作业，使该地区和整个行业受益。

This collaboration focuses on developing "green" processes to treat mining effluents. In these processes the effluent is treated with a sustainable bioadsorbent and the "spent" adsorbent can ideally be used in soil amendment. Traditional methods to remove contaminants from tailings include chemical addition, ion exchange, membranes, biological processes, and adsorption. Ion exchange and membrane systems require specially developed resins/membranes increasing costs associated with the systems. Chemical addition is costly in terms of toxicity of the chemicals and disposal of generated sludge. Biological processes can be operationally and economically prohibitive due to processing time and inability to treat metals. Adsorption processes are attractive alternatives in remote or rural areas where costs associated with transport of chemicals/supplies are high and disposal options limited. This work seeks to use "green" processes to cost effectively remove the NH3 and As. Using biochar as an adsorbent is an example of treating one by-product stream with an underutilized by-product from another operation (biochar from pyrolysis of forestry residues). Further, the "spent" biochar can potentially be integrated into the existing tailing management program. This work would have potential application to other mining operations, benefiting the region and industry as a whole.**