Sorption studies of Zn(II) and Cu(II) onto vegetal compost used on reactive mixtures for in situ treatment of acid mine drainage

The efficiency of the sulphate reducing bacteria-based in situ treatment of acid mine drainage is often limited by the low degradability of the current carbon sources, typically complex plant-derived materials. In such non-sulphate-reducing conditions, field and laboratory experiences have shown that mechanisms other than sulphide precipitation should be considered in the metal removal, i.e. metal (oxy)hydroxides precipitation, co-precipitation with these precipitates, and sorption onto the organic matter.The focus of the present paper was to present some laboratory data highlighting the Zn and Cu sorption on vegetal compost and to develop a general and simple model for the prediction of their distribution in organic-based passive remediation systems. The model considers two kinds of sorption sites (≻SO2H2) and the existence of monodentate and bidentate metal-binding reactions, and it assumes that only free M2+ species can sorb onto the compost surface. The acid–base properties of the compost were studied by means of potentiometric titrations in order to identify the nature of the involved surface functional groups and their density. The distribution coefficient (KD) for both Zn and Cu were determined from batch experiments as a function of pH and metal concentration. The model yielded the predominant surface complexes at the experimental conditions, being ≻SO2Zn for Zn and ≻SO2HCu+ and (≻SO2H)2Cu for Cu, with log KM values of −2.10, 3.36 and 4.65, respectively. The results presented in this study have demonstrated that the proposed model provides a good description of the sorption process of Zn and Cu onto the vegetal compost used in these experiments.