Metals Recovery From Acid Mine Drainage Using Pervious Concrete

Pervious concrete has grown in popularity as an alternative infrastructure medium to enhance the quality of surface water in developed geographical areas. Previous studies have shown that pervious concrete structures and the subgrade layer that supports them are effective at significantly reducing the concentrations of common pollutants such as soap, motor oil, brake fluid, brake dust, and roof shingle particles from rain water and snow melt. Studies thus far have shown enough promise to encourage growing use of pervious concrete in infrastructure categories such as storm channels, sidewalks and parking lots. This paper examines the use of pervious concrete to remove metals and neutralize pH from a synthetic solution simulating acid mine drainage (AMD). In addition, destructive testing of cores taken from pre-filtration and post filtration filters were used to evaluate the potential lifespan of a pervious concrete filter when exposed to the prolonged flow of polluted water. The dimensions of the filter allow for ease of handling by manual labor or the use of machinery that can be transported by standard off-road vehicles.