The Adsorption Characteristics Of Metals in Tin Acid Mine Water on Lightweight Expanded Clay Aggregate (LECA)
Syukur*, Agus Prasetya, and Ahmad T. Yuliansyah

Department of Chemical Engineering, Gadjah Mada University, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
*syukur2020[at]mail.ugm.ac.id

Abstract

The abandoned tin mines produce acid mine water in their water basin. If not treated well, they can damage the environmental ecosystem by entering rivers or other water bodies. This acid mine water is attempted to remediate using adsorbents in the form of Lightweight Expanded Clay Aggregate (LECA) which is commonly used for hydroponics and constructions. The use of LECA is based on its base material, natural clay, that is commonly used as an adsorbent. This LECA is made from natural clay that been heated at high temperatures. The aim of this research is to determine how significant LECA is to adsorp metals which are present in tin acid mine waters. This research used two materials- LECA and simulated tin acid mine water which are contacted for 2 days in shaker bath. Fe and Cu adsorbed on LECA can be approximated by the Combined Langmuir Freundlich model which the maximum adsorption are 0.406 and 0.020 mg/g of adsorbent, respectively. In contrast to the previous two metals, Sn metal is more likely to experience precipitation instead of adsorption due to pH increasing. The conclusion of this study, metals in tin acid mine water can be remedied well by using LECA.

Keywords: adsorption, LECA, acid mine water, abandoned tin mines, natural clay

Topic: Environmental Chemistry and Engineering