Microcosm Testing of Municipal Sewage and Green Waste for Full-Scale Remediation of an Acid Coal Pit Lake, in Semi-Arid Tropical Australia

McCullough, Clint D.; Lund, Mark A.; May, Joel M.

doi:10.21000/jasmr06021177

Cited by 15 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…While household waste separation into recyclable hard waste (i.e., paper, aluminum, plastics) and solid waste destined for landfill is standard procedure among most local government councils, some councils deploy separate bins for the collection of green waste/organic waste (e.g., food remains, garden waste, lawn clippings), in addition to green waste collection from industry, such as landscaping businesses [45,46]. At the waste management center, the green waste is shredded or ground and composted for a set period [47], after which it is sold as garden mulch or as 'manufactured soil' [48,49], which is widely and frequently used in land reclamation and remediation projects [50][51][52].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

COVID-19 Face Masks as a Long-Term Source of Microplastics in Recycled Urban Green Waste

Spennemann

2021

Sustainability

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Following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, many governments recommended or mandated the wearing of fitted face masks to limit the transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 virus via aerosols. Concomitant with the extensive use of non-sterile, surgical-type single-use face masks (SUM) was an increase of such masks, either lost or discarded, in various environmental settings. With their low tensile strength, the spunbond and melt-blown fabrics of the SUM are prone to shredding into small pieces when impacted by lawn cutting equipment. Observations highlight the absence of smaller pieces, which are either wind-dispersed or collected by the mower’s leaf catcher and disposed together with the green waste and then enter the municipal waste stream. As proof-of-concept, experiments using a domestic lawn-mower with different height settings and different grass heights, show that 75% of all pieces of SUM fabric caught in the catcher belonged to sizes below 10 mm2, which under the influence of UV light will decay into microfibers. The implications of SUM generated microplastics are discussed.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

COVID-19 Face Masks as a Long-Term Source of Microplastics in Recycled Urban Green Waste

Spennemann

2021

Sustainability

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“…The organic matter present in WW is also a carbon source that sulfate reducing bacteria (SRB) can utilize to generate alkalinity and precipitate metal sulfides. Studies have documented the effectiveness of sewage sludge as an SRB medium (Waybrant et al, 1998;Harris and Ragusa, 2000;McCullough et al, 2006). AMD passive treatment systems have generally been limited to the treatment of the more prevalent metal contaminants (i.e., Al, As, Cd, Fe, Mn, Pb, Zn, etc.)…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effective passive treatment of high-strength acid mine drainage and raw municipal wastewater in Potosí, Bolivia using simple mutual incubations and limestone

Strosnider

Nairn

2010

Journal of Geochemical Exploration

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“…In February 2004 we added a further dose of superphosphate to the P treatments and 32.6 g of urea fertilizer (CO(NH 2 ) 2 ; 46% N) to all treatments to increase N concentrations by 20-30 µg L -1 in response to this. The utilization of available N by decomposition processes was one of the reasons that McCullough et al (2006) chose to utilize both mulch (green waste) and sewage in combination to remediate a mine pit lake. The sewage was included to provide a source of nutrients particularly N to feed the decomposition process.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

In-Situ Coal Pit Lake Treatment of Acidity When Sulfate Concentrations Are Low

Lund¹,

McCullough²,

Yuden³

2006

JASMR

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Pit lakes (abandoned flooded mine pits) represent a potentially valuable resource to mining companies, the environment and community, if appropriate water quality can be achieved. However, the water is often of low pH with high dissolved metal concentrations. In Western Australia coal pit lakes are acidic (pH 3-5) but with low concentrations of sulfate and metals. Low sulfate concentrations prevent microbial sulfate reduction from reducing acidity in these lakes. However, stimulation of primary production and associated alkalinity generating processes may provide a cost effective and sustainable solution to the acidity problems. A field-scale experiment (with control) involving the treatment of in-situ macrocosms (~600 m 3) in a small southwest , Western Australian coal mine lake with municipal mulch and phosphorus additions to enhance primary production was undertaken between June 2003 and June 2004. One macrocosm was treated with P additions, another with mulch, a third with mulch and P, and the untreated lake formed the control. Physico-chemical and algal (chlorophyll a) sampling of the macrocosms and lake occurred at monthly intervals. The decomposition of mulch reduced nitrogen concentrations in the macrocosms to very low levels and necessitated supplementation with urea fertilizer. Phosphorus concentrations dropped rapidly after addition as it became bound to iron, organic matter and sediment. Although there was virtually no difference between treatments and control for most physico-chemical parameters measured (including pH), a PCA of the data showed that the addition of mulch sent the macrocosms on a different trajectory to the control. This difference was reflected in observations of increased abundance and diversity of biofilms and macroinvertebrates within the treated macrocosms. In conclusion, the addition of mulch and phosphorus alone was not sufficient to increase the pH of Collie mine lakes, although it does provide a number of benefits for biota in the water. We therefore recommend that liming be used to increase pH, followed by organic matter and nutrient additions to stimulate primary production.

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Microcosm Testing of Municipal Sewage and Green Waste for Full-Scale Remediation of an Acid Coal Pit Lake, in Semi-Arid Tropical Australia

Cited by 15 publications

References 27 publications

COVID-19 Face Masks as a Long-Term Source of Microplastics in Recycled Urban Green Waste

COVID-19 Face Masks as a Long-Term Source of Microplastics in Recycled Urban Green Waste

Effective passive treatment of high-strength acid mine drainage and raw municipal wastewater in Potosí, Bolivia using simple mutual incubations and limestone

In-Situ Coal Pit Lake Treatment of Acidity When Sulfate Concentrations Are Low

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