• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.325-337
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• 2002

We examined the contamination of stream water and stream sediments by heavy metal elements with respect to distance from the abandoned Backun Au-Ag-Cu mine. High contents of heavy metals (Pb, Zn, Cu, Cd, Mn, and Fe) and aluminum in the waters connected with mining and associated deposits (dumps, tailings) reduce water quality. In the mining area, Ca and SO$_4$ are predominant cation and anion. The mining water is Ca-SO$_4$ type and is enriched in heavy metals resulted from the weathering of sulfide minerals. This mine drainage water is weakly acid or neutral (pH; 6.5-7.1) because of neutralizing effect by other alkali and alkaline earth elements. The effluent from the mine adit is also weakly acid or neutral, and contains elevated concentrations of most elements due to reactions with ore and gangue minerals in the deposit. The concentration of ions in the Backun mining water is high in the mine adit drainage water and steeply decreased award to down stream. Buffering process can be reasonably considered as a partial natural control of pollution, since the ion concentration becomes lower and the pH value becomes neutralized. In order to evaluate mobility and bioavailability of metals, sequential extraction was used for stream sediments into five operationally defined groups: exchangeable, bound to carbonates, bound to FeMn oxide, bound to organic matter, and residual. The residual fraction was the most abundant pool for Cu(2l-92%), Zn(28-89%) and Pb(23-94%). Almost sediments are low concentrated with Cd(2.7-52.8 mg/kg) than any other elements. But Cd dominate with non stable fraction (68-97%). Upper stream sediments are contaminated with Pb, and down area sediments are enriched with Zn. It is indicate high mobility of Zn and Cd.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.179-185
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• 2009

In this research, the removal capacity of Cr(VI) by the reused powdered wastes (RPW) containing aluminium oxides was studied. As a pre-treatment process for the preparation of calcined wastes, calcination was conducted at $550^{\circ}C$ to remove organic fraction in the raw wastes. In order to study the adsorption trend of Cr(VI) ions from aqueous solutions, the pH-edge adsorption, adsorption kinetic and adsorption isotherm were investigated using a batch reactor in the presence of four different background electrolytes($NO_3\;^-,\;CO_3\;^{2-},\;SO_4\;^{2-},\;PO_4\;^{3-}$). Cr(VI) adsorption was greatly reduced in the presence of $SO_4\;^{2-}$ and $PO_4\;^{3-}$ over the entire pH range. Meanwhile the inhibition effect by $NO_3\;^-$ and $CO_3\;^{2-}$ was relatively lower than that by $SO_4\;^{2-}$ and $PO_4\;^{3-}$. Cr(VI) adsorption was maximum around pH 4.5 in the presence of $NO_3\;^-$ and $CO_3\;^{2-}$. As the concentration of background electrolytes increased, Cr(VI) adsorption decreased. This result mightly suggests that adsorption between the surface of RPW and Cr(VI) occurs through outer-sphere complex. Cr(VI) adsorption onto the RPW was well described by second-order kinetics. From the Langmuir isotherm at initial pH 3, the maximum adsorbed amount of Cr(VI) onto the RPW was 11.1, 10, 3.3, 5 mg/g in the presence of $NO_3\;^-,\;CO_3\;^{2-},\;SO_4\;^{2-}$, and $PO_4\;^{3-}$, respectively.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.52 no.1
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• pp.13-28
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• 2019

This study analyzed precipitation environment, heavy metal contamination, and mineral composition of white, reddish brown and mixed precipitates occurring at the Osip stream drainage, Gangwondo. Furthermore, spectral characteristics of the precipitates associated with heavy metal contamination and mineral composition was investigated based on spectroscopic analysis. The pH range of the precipitates was 4.43-6.91 for white precipitates, 7.74-7.94 for reddish brown precipitates, and 7.59-7.9 for the mixed precipitates, respectively. XRF analysis revealed that these precipitates were contaminated with Ni, Cu, Zn, and As. The white precipitates showed high Al concentration compared to reddish brown precipitates as much as 3.3 times, and the reddish brown precipitates showed high Fe concentration compared to white precipitates as much as 15 times. XRD analysis identified that the mineral composition of the white participates was aluminocoquimbite, gibbsite, quartz, saponite, and illite, and that of reddish brown precipitates was aluminum isopropoxide, kaolinite, goethite, dolomite, pyrophyllite, magnetite, quartz, calcite, pyrope. The mineral composition of the mixed precipitates was quartz, albite, and calcite. The spectral characteristics of the precipitates was manifested by gibbsite, saponite, illite for white precipitates, goethite, kaolinite, pyrophyllite for reddish brown precipitates, and albite for the mixed precipitates, respectively. The spectral reflectance of the precipitates decreased with increase in heavy metal contamination, and absorption depth of the precipitates indicated that the heavy metal ions were adsorbed to saponite and illite for white precipitates, and goethite and magnetite for reddish brown precipitates.