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Full-Text Articles in Engineering

Geoelectrical Signatures Of Acid-Generating Mine Waste Rock, Difan Su May 2023

Geoelectrical Signatures Of Acid-Generating Mine Waste Rock, Difan Su

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Acid mine drainage (AMD) contamination associated with waste rock piles (WRPs) at mining sites is a global concern, and understanding the generation and release of AMD from these piles is highly desirable. Traditional WRP monitoring techniques involve the installation of monitoring wells and periodic core sampling; however, these approaches are invasive, expensive and can only provide data with limited spatial and temporal resolution. An attractive alternative is non-invasive geophysical techniques that can provide non-invasive and continuous information on subsurface features and processes. This thesis aims to investigate the feasibility of the spectral induced polarization (SIP) method for monitoring changes in …


Detection Of Fecal Bacteria In Watersheds Impacted By Acid Mine Drainage, Claire Addison Mcdonald Jan 2022

Detection Of Fecal Bacteria In Watersheds Impacted By Acid Mine Drainage, Claire Addison Mcdonald

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Escherichia coli, a fecal coliform, is an essential component of water quality monitoring, entering waterways through sewage deposits, agricultural land and livestock, and wildlife. Various fast and user-friendly methods for quantifying E. coli make it the principal indicator bacteria for fecal contamination. The most common methods for E. coli quantification are culture-based and involve cultivating samples onto nutrient agar and counting the visible colonies. However, E. coli can enter a viable but non-culturable (VBNC) state in stressful environments. Bacteria in a VBNC state are still alive but reduce key metabolic activities that typically encourage growth and division, allowing them …


Assessing The Evolution Of Mine Water Quality With Empirical 'First-Flush' Models, Patrick J. Merritt May 2021

Assessing The Evolution Of Mine Water Quality With Empirical 'First-Flush' Models, Patrick J. Merritt

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Coal mining activities can leave an extensive network of abandoned underground workings that gradually flood after operations cease. This rising mine water, with low pH and high sulfate, acidity, and metals can lead to uncontrolled releases of harmful acid mine drainage to the environment. Treatment plants are used to extract and treat the mine water to maintain its elevations below suspected discharge zones. Accurate predictions of long-term water quality is highly challenging due to the complexity and volume of the underground workings. As numerical models have difficulty recreating complex mine pool geometry and hydrogeochemical processes, empirical models that are based …


Selective Precipitation And Recovery Of Rare Earth Elements From Acid Mine Drainage, Robyn Lauren Christoferson Jan 2020

Selective Precipitation And Recovery Of Rare Earth Elements From Acid Mine Drainage, Robyn Lauren Christoferson

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

The ability to secure rare earth elements (REEs) in the United States is of concern due to the rapid growth in demand and the monopolistic supply chain. The demand for REEs has skyrocketed in recent years due to the development of many green technologies. The United States and many other countries are currently reliant on China for REEs, who currently control greater than 90% of the global supply. Due to the severe impact of previous Chinese export quotas, it is important to lessen the reliance on importation and explore methods of recycling REEs from secondary sources. A secondary REE source …