The pH paradox.

This paper highlights the critical role of pH or proton activity measurements in environmental studies and emphasises the importance of applying proper statistical approaches when handling pH data. This allows for more informed decisions to effectively manage environmental data such as from mining influenced water. Both the pH and {H} of the same system display different distributions, with pH mostly displaying a normal or bimodal distribution and {H} showing a lognormal distribution.

Paleoenvironmental changes in river channel systems in alpine rockslide deposits exemplified by the Fernpass rockslide in the Tyrolian Außerfern District, Austria.

This paper describes the instability of river channel systems in alpine rockslide deposits using the Fernpass Rockslide and the river Loisach in the Tyrolian Außerfern District (Austria) as an example of paleoenvironmental developments. This is the first investigation of this kind of the Fernpass, one of the most important Alpine north-south transport connections since the bronze age. It uses geomorphological, sedimentological, onomastic and hydrogeological investigations to reconstruct the course of a late Holocene river in this area and a probabilistic simulation for dating.

Toxicity of polychlorinated biphenyls in aquatic environments - A review.

The assessment of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and their congeners resulting from the pollution of all environmental media is inherently related to its persistence and ubiquitous nature. In principle, determination of this class of contaminants are limited to the determination of their concentrations in the various environmental matrices. For solving many problems in this context, knowledge of the emission sources of PCBs, transport pathways, and sites of contamination and biomagnification is of great benefit to scientists and researchers, as well as many regulatory organizations.

Density stratification and double-diffusive convection in mine pools of flooded underground mines - A review.

Layering of water bodies with different physico-chemical properties is called stratification. This physical effect is known from lakes or oceans but also occurs in flooded underground mines and has been studied in the past. This review gives a summary of their investigation methods, flow dynamics, stratification development and breakdown.

The Whitehill Formation as a natural geochemical analogue to the Witwatersrand Basin's mine water issues, South Africa.

Mining activities within the Witwatersrand Basin, South Africa, have led to many studies, particularly focusing on the generation of acid mine drainage (AMD) in the basin and the associated environmental effects. This study assesses whether gypsum in the Whitehill Formation is connected to acid rock drainage (ARD) resulting from reactions between the pyrite-bearing shale and carbonaceous rocks. To investigate this, the geochemical, geological and palaeoclimatic settings were investigated and a laboratory experiment with Whitehill Formation rock samples was conducted.

Synthesis and application of alginate immobilised banana peels nanocomposite in rare earth and radioactive minerals removal from mine water.

This study describes the preparation, characterisation and application of pelletised immobilised alginate/montmorillonite/banana peels nanocomposite (BPNC) in a fixed-bed column for continuous adsorption of rare earth elements and radioactive minerals from water. The materials was characterised by Fourier transform infrared, X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy analyses. Analyses indicated that the pellets are porous and spherical in shape.

Sulfate removal from acid mine water from the deepest active European mine by precipitation and various electrocoagulation configurations.

Sulfate removal from mine or process water is a key issue in the mining industry. In this paper, precipitation with lime (calcium oxide) was integrated with electrocoagulation for sulfate removal from Pyhäsalmi/Finland mine water. Sulfate precipitation with calcium oxide decreased the sulfate concentration from 13,000 mg/L to 1600 mg/L.

Application of banana peels nanosorbent for the removal of radioactive minerals from real mine water.

Transformation of agricultural waste such as banana peels into a valuable sorbent material has been proven effective and efficient in wastewater treatment. Further, transformation into nanosorbent to enhance the removal capacity of actinides (uranium and thorium) from synthetic and real mine water is extensively investigated in this study. The nanosorbent samples before and after adsorption were characterised by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infra-red (FTIR), zetasizer nanoseries and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) while the amount of radioactive substances adsorbed was determined by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy.