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Design of a Dry Cover Pilot Test for Acid Mine Drainage Abatement in Southern Brazil. I: Materials Characterization and Numerical Modeling

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Abstract

Pyritic coal wastes produced by a coal beneficiation plant in the State of Santa Catarina in southern Brazil are acid generating. In this paper, we report the results from the first phase of a study evaluating the performance of dry covers for minimizing generation of acid mine drainage and its release to the environment. The first phase includes our investigation of locally available materials for dry covers. Numerical modeling led to four configurations being selected for testing: a dry cover using a double capillary barrier with bottom ash, a dry cover with a single layer of clay, a dry cover with mixed waste, and waste with no cover. Modeling also showed that the best position for the lysimeter was at the bottom of the excavation, where it would not interfere with the water flux in the waste. A subsequent paper will describe the construction of the experimental unit and the results of the geotechnical and geochemical studies.

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank the Brazilian Ministry of Science and Technology (FINEP) and the Carbonifera Criciúma S/A for their financial support of this research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Mineral Technology, Brazilian Science and Technology Ministry, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil

    Anderson Borghetti Soares, Vicente Paulo de Souza & Paulo Sérgio Moreira Soares

  2. Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, COPPE/UFRJ, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil

    Mariluce de Oliveira Ubaldo & Maria Claudia Barbosa

  3. Federal University of Tocantins (UFT), Palmas, TO, Brazil

    Rose Mary Gondim Mendonça

Authors
  1. Anderson Borghetti Soares
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  2. Mariluce de Oliveira Ubaldo
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  3. Vicente Paulo de Souza
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  4. Paulo Sérgio Moreira Soares
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  5. Maria Claudia Barbosa
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  6. Rose Mary Gondim Mendonça
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Correspondence to Anderson Borghetti Soares.

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Borghetti Soares, A., Ubaldo, M.O., de Souza, V.P. et al. Design of a Dry Cover Pilot Test for Acid Mine Drainage Abatement in Southern Brazil. I: Materials Characterization and Numerical Modeling. Mine Water Environ 28, 219–231 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10230-009-0077-5

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