Effective treatment of acid mine drainage using a combination of MgO-nanoparticles and a series of constructed wetlands planted with Vetiveria zizanioides: A hybrid and stepwise approach.

In this novel study, acid mine drainage (AMD) was treated using a hybrid approach comprising a nano-and-biotic system synergistically integrated in a step-wise and modular fashion. Specifically, the treatment chains were made up of different stages, which comprise, neutralization using activated magnesite or MgO-nanoparticles (NPs) (Stage 1) and polishing the product water using a series of wetlands (Stage 2) in a step-wise connection. In stage One (1), real AMD was treated with MgO-NPs at a ratio of 1:100 (1 g/100 mL - w/v ratio), 500 rpm of mixing speed, and One (1) hour of hydraulic retention time (HRT) whilst in stage 2, the final water was fed into constructed wetlands, i.