Acid tolerance of an acid mine drainage bioremediation system based on biological sulfate reduction

► Acid tolerance of sulfate-reducing AMD bioremediation system was investigated. ► Maximum sulfate reduction rate was 12.3 ± 0.8 mg L−1 d−1 in high acid treatment. ► Rapid increase in sulfate reduction was observed after extreme acid treatment. ► More than 98% of Cu and 85% of Zn were removed in high acid column experiment. ► Majority bacteria belonged to Eubacterium, Pseudobutyrivibrio, and Clostridium.