Abstract
The overburden of lignite areas has to be moved in order to obtain coal. This overburden very often contains pyrite. During hauling, pyrite weathering begins due to drastic changes in environmental conditions in the overburden. Oxidation processes create sulphate, iron and hydrogen ions. Iron bacteria catalyse the reaction of pyrite weathering (Singer and Stumm 1970; Brierley 1978; Stumm and Morgan 1984; Tuovinen and Kelly 1984; Karavaiko 1988; Ahonen and Tuovinen 1989; Kölling 1990; Beveridge and Southam 1992; Curutchet 1992; Prein 1993). The components resulting from the weathering reaction are washed out into the groundwater, where they cause groundwater pollution.
This contribution was made within the scope of a graduate study by A. Prein, “substance fluxes in water and soil” at the University of Hannover, sponsored by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft.
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© 1998 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
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Prein, A., Mull, R. (1998). Oxygen as a Limiting Factor for Pyrite Weathering in the Overburden of Open Pit Lignite Areas. In: Geller, W., Klapper, H., Salomons, W. (eds) Acidic Mining Lakes. Environmental Science. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-71954-7_12
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-71954-7_12
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