Evaluation of design factors for a cascade aerator to enhance the efficiency of an oxidation pond for ferruginous mine drainage.

This research focused on the optimum design of a cascade aerator to enhance the efficiency of an oxidation pond in a passive treatment system for remediating ferruginous mine drainage. For this purpose, various aeration experiments with aerators of different drop heights (0-4 m) and formations (types A and B) were executed on mine drainage. Type A simply drops the mine drainage into the oxidation pond while type B sprays the mine drainage and retains it for 8 min in each step. The efficiency enhancement of the oxidation pond was strongly dependent on the increase in pH and DO of the mine drainage discharged into the pond. The water quality improved with the increase in drop height but especially showed better effect with type B. The reasons for this result were attributed to the increase of contact surface and retention time of the mine drainage. The cascade aerator, therefore, should be designed to be as high as possible with the assistance of spraying form and retention time of the mine drainage to maximize the efficiency of the oxidation pond. These effects could be evaluated by calculating required areas of the oxidation pond for 95% of Fe(2+) oxidation.