Study of the preparation of Maifan stone and SRB immobilized particles and their effect on treatment of acid mine drainage

The problems of acid mine drainage (AMD) in coal mine acidic wastewaters arise from a range of sources, including severe pollution with heavy metals and SO(4)(2−) and difficulties during treatment. Based on the ability of Maifan stone to adsorb heavy metals and the dissimilatory reduction of SO(4)(2−) by sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB), Maifan stone–sulfate-reducing bacterium-immobilized particles were prepared via immobilization techniques using Shandong Maifan stone as the experimental material. A single factor experiment was used to investigate the influences of the dosage of Maifan stone, the particle size of Maifan stone and the dosage of SRB on the pH improvement effect and the removal rates of SO(4)(2−), Fe(2+) and Mn(2+). The Box–Behnken response surface method was used to determine the optimal preparation conditions for the Maifan stone and SRB immobilized particles in accordance with the ion removal rate and pH improvement effect when dealing with AMD. The results show that: (1) the optimal preparation conditions for Maifan stone synergistic SRB immobilized particles are determined by single factor experiment: the dosage of Maifan stone is 5 g, the particle size of Maifan stone is 0.075–0.106 mm, and the dosage of SRB is 25 mL per 100 mL; the removal rates of SO(4)(2−), Fe(2+) and Mn(2+) from AMD by the Maifan stone and SRB immobilized particles prepared under these conditions were 92.22%, 95.41% and 86.05%, and the pH was increased from 4.08 to 7.45. (2) From the variance analysis of the response surface model, it can be seen that the model effectively predicts the SO(4)(2−) removal rate, Fe(2+) removal rate, Mn(2+) removal rate and pH change. (3) After further optimization using the response surface method, the optimal preparation conditions of Maifan stone and SRB immobilized particles are determined as follows: Maifan stone dosage is 5 g, Maifan stone particle size is 0.075–0.106 mm, and SRB dosage is 25 mL per 100 mL. Through experiments, the removal rates of SO(4)(2−), Fe(2+) and Mn(2+) from AMD by the Maifan stone and SRB immobilized particles prepared under these conditions were 92.12%, 95.93% and 87.14%, respectively, and the pH was increased from 4.08 to 7.49.