Acid mine drainage (AMD) is a special kind of acidic wastewater produced in the process of mining and utilization. In this study, AMD was treated using the adsorption method. Domestic waste was prepared by pyrolysis, and the resulting waste pyrolysis ash adsorbent was studied experimentally by a static adsorption test to treat metal ions in AMD. The results showed that the maximum adsorption amounts of Zn2+, Cu2+, Mn2+, Fe2+, Pb2+, and Cd2+ reached 0.425, 0.593, 0.498, 18.519, 0.055, and 0.039 mg/g, respectively, when the amount of pyrolysis ash was added at 30 g/L, the initial pH of the water was 4.1 and the reaction time was 150 min. It was found that, the waste pyrolysis ash could be reused at least 3 times by using Na2S as the regeneration agent. The SEM and BET characterization results prove that its large specific surface areas and well-developed pore structures have the potential to promote the adsorption of metal ions. The pseudo-second-order kinetic equation and Freundlich adsorption isotherms fit the adsorption process well, and the experiments reveal that the metal ions in AMD are well treated by waste pyrolysis ash through adsorption, flocculation and chemical precipitation. Waste pyrolysis ash has great potential for the treatment of acid mine drainage, providing a new approach to solid waste disposal and new ideas for water treatment as a low-cost alternative material.

An activated sludge lysis ash/chitosan composite adsorbent was synthesised using an in situ coprecipitation method, making lysis ash for fluoride removal from wastewater has an outstanding overall cost advantage.