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Eukaryotes in acidic mine drainage environments: potential applications in bioremediation

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Abstract

Passive remediation of Acid Mine Drainage (AMD) is a popular technology continuously under development for more than 50 years now. Roles of eukaryotes, the natural residents of AMD and its attenuator are not emphasized adequately. Studies suggest that macrophyte distinctively generate alkalinity through benthic sediments as part of root respiration. Other eukaryotic populations effectively enrich the carbon source for maintaining sulphate reducing bacterial (SRB) populations and act symbiotically. Algae produce anoxic zones for SRB action and help in biogenic alkalinity generation. While studies on algal populations and actions are relatively available those on fungal population are limited. Fungi show capacity to absorb significant amount of metals in their cell wall, or by extra cellular polysaccharide slime. This review examines the roles of these microorganisms and documents their activities in holistic form in the mine water environment. This work discusses the potential areas of likely future research that could enable AMD remediation using active eukaryotes to be made on sound understanding.

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Abbreviations

AMD:

Acid mine drainage

ARD:

Acid rock drainage

SRB:

Sulphate reducing bacteria

GPP:

Gross primary production

NPP:

Net primary production

FDA:

Fluoresceindiacetate

EPS:

Extracellular polysaccharide

DOC:

Dissolved organic carbon

PDOC:

Photosynthetically produced dissolved organic carbon

ASPAM:

Algal sulphate reducing ponding process for the treatment of acidic and metal wastewaters

HRAP:

High rate algal pond

REE:

Rare earth elements

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  1. Department of Mining Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, Kharagpur, 721302, India

    Bidus Kanti Das, Arup Roy, Soumitra Singh & Jayanta Bhattacharya

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  1. Bidus Kanti Das
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  2. Arup Roy
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  3. Soumitra Singh
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  4. Jayanta Bhattacharya
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Correspondence to Jayanta Bhattacharya.

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Das, B.K., Roy, A., Singh, S. et al. Eukaryotes in acidic mine drainage environments: potential applications in bioremediation. Rev Environ Sci Biotechnol 8, 257–274 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11157-009-9161-3

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