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Rheological problems and alternatives for existing oxidation ponds

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Abstract

A trace test and computational flow analysis were carried out in order to identify the flow characteristics of mine drainage in an existing oxidation pond. Consequently, despite the need for sufficient retention time of mine drainage to purify the mine drainage, the effective volume of an oxidation pond without any structure is too small and the time for mine drainage required to reach the outlet is also too short. To deal with this problem, computational flow analysis was carried out after systematically arranging the baffles in an oxidation pond. The initial arrival time to the outlet with baffles was more than 360 times compared to the case without baffles. Furthermore, exchange efficiency was also significantly increased from 14.5 to 82.7 %. Thus, adding baffles to an oxidation pond resulted in an increase in the volume of the oxidation pond in the flow range of mine drainage, enhancing the flow efficiency and retention time as well.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the Research Project of the Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources (KIGAM) and Mine Reclamation Corporation (MIRECO) and funded by the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning of Korea and Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy of Korea.

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  1. Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources (KIGAM), 124 Gwahang-no, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, 34132, South Korea

    Dong-kil Lee

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  1. Dong-kil Lee
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Correspondence to Dong-kil Lee.

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Lee, Dk. Rheological problems and alternatives for existing oxidation ponds. Environ Earth Sci 75, 905 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-016-5715-1

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