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Chemical modelling of the groundwater composition in aquifers affected by lignite mine dumps discharge (surface mine Inden, Germany)

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Abstract

The oxidation of pyrite results in sulphate concentrations from 1,300 to 2,000 mg/l in the dump water of the open cast mine Inden, which is located in Germany. Under near-neutral pH and reduced redox conditions, precipitation of siderite (FeCO3) retains up to 85% of the pre-liberated ferrous iron, so that iron concentrations in the dump water are relatively low as compared to the concentrations of sulphate. The highly mineralised dump water will enter the aquifer system northwards of Inden during the next centuries. This area is used intensely for water extraction. Model calculations show that there will be no problem of acidification in the adjacent aquifer system and, therefore, no problem of high heavy metal concentrations during the next centuries. The most important problem will be high sulphate concentrations in the groundwater. Besides dispersion and diffusion, there are no chemical mechanisms that lower the sulphate concentrations downstream. On the basis of the simulations, sulphate plumes of about 1–2 km in width and up to 15 km in length are expected. Within the core of these plumes, sulphate concentrations will be above the drinking water limits.

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Acknowledgments

The authors express appreciation to the RWE Power AG for their support and Dr. Nils Cremer (Erftverband) for his encouragement.

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  1. Chair of Applied Geology, Ruhr-University Bochum, Universitätsstraße 150, Bochum, Germany

    Stephan Lenk & Frank Wisotzky

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  1. Stephan Lenk
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  2. Frank Wisotzky
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Correspondence to Stephan Lenk.

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Lenk, S., Wisotzky, F. Chemical modelling of the groundwater composition in aquifers affected by lignite mine dumps discharge (surface mine Inden, Germany). Environ Earth Sci 62, 581–591 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-010-0549-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-010-0549-8

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