PASSIVE TREATMENT OF MINING INFLUENCED WASTEWATER WITH BIOCHEMICAL REACTOR TREATMENT AT THE STANDARD MINE SUPERFUND SITE, CRESTED BUTTE, COLORADO
Abstract
A pilot biochemical reactor (BCR) with a design flowrate of 3.8 l/m (1 gpm) has been operating at the Standard Mine Superfund Site for over four years, since August, 2007. The pilot system is entirely passive, using solar energy to power sampling equipment and pumping requirements. BCR treatment relies on biological and chemical reactions within an anaerobic reactor comprised of organic and inorganic materials including woodchips, straw, limestone and bacterial inoculum. The BCR pilot has been treating mining influenced wastewater (MIW) since construction was completed in the summer of 2007. Polishing and aeration of BCR effluent is accomplished in an aerobic polishing cell (APC) containing wetland plants in two of the three cells. The Standard Mine BCR is constructed at an elevation of 3,353 meters (11,000 ft ) above MSL with an average annual snowfall of 10.2 m (400 in ). Limited BCR treatment data from reactors operating under harsh alpine conditions was available before this system was constructed. Operation and monitoring of the BCR has been year round since 2007. Due to the inaccessibility of the site during winter months, an automated sampling system was designed incorporating Teledyne ISCO (ISCO) samplers, Hydrolab sondes, and a satellite transmission system reporting site operational parameters on a daily basis. In addition to automated sampling, grab samples were taken monthly throughout the 2010/2011 winter using backcountry skiing equipment to access the site.
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