{"title":"Optimal Conditions for Treating Acid Mine Drainage by Bentonite-Steel Slag Composites","authors":"Liping Xiao, W. Bin, Jichi Bai, Liu Zhe","doi":"10.15273/GREE.2017.02.025","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15273/GREE.2017.02.025","url":null,"abstract":"The Acid Mine Drainage has characteristics of low pH, high concentrations of heavy metal ions, such as Fe 2+ , Mn 2+ , Cu 2+ and Zn 2+ . In this paper, the composite particles that consisted of bentonite and steel slags were used to dispose the Acid Mine Drainage. Bentonite is the mineral materials and can adsorb heavy metal ions excellently. The steel slags are alkaline and industrial solid waste for the treatment of the Acid Mine Drainage. The main influencing factors, such as adsorbent dosages, shaking rates, concentrations of heavy metal ions, temperatures, adsorption time and pH value were studied by the static experiment. Increasing the adsorbent dosages and the concentrations of the heavy metal ions, speeding up the shaking rates, raising the temperatures, extending the adsorption time and improving pH would improve the removal efficiencies of heavy metal ions. Through considering the removal efficiencies and the treatment costs, the optimum reaction conditions for the four kinds of heavy metal ions were obtained. The adsorbent dosage 21 mg/L, the rotational speed 120 r / min, the temperature 25℃, adsorption time 100 min and the initial wastewater pH 7. The four kinds of heavy metal ions existed independently in the simulated mine wastewater. The highest initial concentrations of Fe 2+ , Mn 2+ , Cu 2+ and Zn 2+ were 150 mg/L, 100 mg/L, 170 mg/L and 140 mg/L respectively. The removal rates were 93.42%, 92.64%, 93.86% and 95.17% respectively. The determination of the particles’ SEM-EDS Microscopic characterization showed the composite particles could play a part in neutralizing, absorbing and the chemical precipitation. The acidity decreased notably and the heavy metal ions of Fe 2+ , Mn 2+ , Cu 2+ and Zn 2+ were adsorbed and precipitated effectively. The research results can extend the practical engineering application of the composite particles.","PeriodicalId":21067,"journal":{"name":"Resources Environment & Engineering","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2017-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"77406339","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ren Liyan, Huayang Dai, Li Yingcheng, Wang En-quan
{"title":"Application of Three-Dimensional Geological Modelling in Coal Mining","authors":"Ren Liyan, Huayang Dai, Li Yingcheng, Wang En-quan","doi":"10.15273/GREE.2017.02.040","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15273/GREE.2017.02.040","url":null,"abstract":"Three-dimensional geological modelling of coal mines is critical to the sustainable development of the mining industry. On the basis of comprehensively analyzing 3D geological modelling methods, according to the available data of mine such as geological terrain maps, cross-sections and boreholes, we present a 3D modelling method by integrating ArcGIS and 3D GeoModeller. Our motivation is to integrate the advantages of both software modules in processing, converting, integrating and transferring geological information. Special attention has been given to the data structure and processing flow. We build a 3D geological model of the Xieqiao coal mine and successfully extract the geological framework of the strata in the 11118 workface, which is consistent with that of the actual explored geology.","PeriodicalId":21067,"journal":{"name":"Resources Environment & Engineering","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2017-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"88303530","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A Review on Integrated Mineral Carbonation Process in Ultramafic Mine Deposit","authors":"Jiajie Li, M. Hitch","doi":"10.15273/GREE.2017.02.027","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15273/GREE.2017.02.027","url":null,"abstract":"Dramatical increase in the CO 2 concentration in the atmosphere has led to the climate change, which poses a significant threat to human life on Earth. CO 2 sequestration via mineral carbonation is the one of the most effective method for mitigating global warming, and is the only way that could store CO 2 permanently. In recent years, integrating mineral carbonation via ultramafic mine deposit has received significant attention due to its high potentiality towards commercial application. This review compiles the work conducted by various researchers over the last few years on integrated mineral carbonation processes in mining industry, which use the mine waste materials as CO 2 feedstock for mineral carbonation. This paper initially introduces the basic theory of mineral carbonation, with a brief description of various techniques that enhance the rate of mineral carbonation. The enhanced mineral carbonation strategies include pre-treatment of feedstock by thermal, chemical and mechanical activation, and carbonation in a direct or indirect carbonation routes under gas/solid phase or aqueous phase. This paper then introduces the scope of application of integrated mineral carbonation. This includes the types of mine suitable for integrated mineral carbonation, the properties of mine waste materials preferable for CO 2 sequestration, and the worldwide locations potentially viable for integrated mineral carbonation. Moreover, this paper critically reviews and discusses the integrated mineral carbonation process in mining industry. The integrated mineral carbonation processes include modified passive carbonation techniques at tailing dams, and ex-situ carbonation routes using fresh tailings. The focus of the discussions is the role of reaction condition on the carbonation efficiency of mine waste with various mineralogy, and the drawback of each integrated mineral carbonation process. All the discussions lead to the suggestions on the technology improvement in the integrated mineral carbonation process. Finally, this paper reviews the economical assessments on the existing integrated mineral carbonation process. Literature to date indicates that the value-add by-products (i.e. recovered metals, valuable carbonated products) play an important role in commercialization of an integrated mineral carbonation process.","PeriodicalId":21067,"journal":{"name":"Resources Environment & Engineering","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2017-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"84053262","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Preparation of High Purity Manganese Sulphate from Low-Grade Rhodochrosite","authors":"Chen-Li Zefang, Ma Laijun, M. Lei, Lian Fang","doi":"10.15273/GREE.2017.02.042","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15273/GREE.2017.02.042","url":null,"abstract":"In our work, the preparation technique of high pure manganese sulfate directly from low-grade rhodochrosite ore (MnCO 3 ) was studied and improved intensively, including the effective leaching process and the short purifying process. Based on the same ion effect, the repeated leaching of rhodochrosite with sulfuric acid is proposed to improve the solubility of Mn 2+ and inhibit the dissolution of the impurities Ca 2+ and Mg 2+ . Moreover, the repeated leaching process could make full use of rhodochrosite and lower the dosage of sulfuric acidas raw material. With the aid of theoretical calculation, Ba(OH) 2 was chose to adjust the pH value of manganese sulfate solution, and BaF 2 to remove Ca 2+ and Mg 2+ completely in the process of purifying. The results demonstrate that the extraction ratio and the recovery ratio of manganese reached 94.3% and 92.7%, respectively, which shows the prospect of industrial application. In manganese sulfate production, the heavy metal impurities have been decreased to less than 1ppm. Moreover, the content of calcium, magnesium and sodium has been decreased to less than 20ppm, which meets the standards of high pure reagent for energy and electronic materials. Our study enlightens an approach to the sustainable application of low-grade rhodochrosite.","PeriodicalId":21067,"journal":{"name":"Resources Environment & Engineering","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2017-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"90644387","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Coal Mine Based Circular Economy Park: A Case Study","authors":"Zhen Wei, Dan Xu, Zhihe Wang, G. Song","doi":"10.15273/GREE.2017.02.002","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15273/GREE.2017.02.002","url":null,"abstract":"With decades of development and exploitation of coal resources, the first batch of coal-based cities in China are faced with the challenge of economic shrinkage and environment deterioration due to the rapid resource exhaustion and single industrial structure. Nowadays, as a policy instrument for sustainable development, a nationwide circular economy mode has been implemented during the design and planning of new coal mines to address the challenges arising from economic depression, energy shortage and environmental pollution. It should be mentioned that several national coal bases and most of constructing and planning coal mines are located in the underdeveloped areas in the Midwest of China which means that the distance between supply source for energy resources and the demand market is significantly increased. Moreover, the eco-environment vulnerability in these rural areas should be taken into serious consideration. Therefore, after comparison and analysis with several successful coals based and diversified circular industry chains, this paper presents a case study on the circular economy park (CEP) in the northwest of Shanxi Province. Through discussion and evaluation of ‘1+3’ mode in the CEP, this paper aims to enhance the understanding of coal mine sustainable development and shed light on the relationship between resources exploitation and local economic development.","PeriodicalId":21067,"journal":{"name":"Resources Environment & Engineering","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2017-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"79180790","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Shuang Gao, Z. Zhen, Zhongxue Li, Yiqing Zhao, Xuan Qin
{"title":"Complex Network Model for Characterizing Hazards and Risks Associated with Mine-tailings Facility","authors":"Shuang Gao, Z. Zhen, Zhongxue Li, Yiqing Zhao, Xuan Qin","doi":"10.15273/GREE.2017.02.019","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15273/GREE.2017.02.019","url":null,"abstract":"If not well-managed, a mine-tailings facility may become a major source of risks, endangering the community and environment, and damaging the reputation of the minerals industry regarding sustainability. Identifying, characterizing, and mitigating the hazards and risks associated with tailings facilities have been critical to the maintenance of community-safe and environmentally sound mine-tailings facilities. Herein, a complex network model for characterizing the hazards and risks associated with the lifecycle of tailings facilities is presented. In this approach, the hazards are modeled as vertices of the complex network, and the interactions among the hazards are modeled as edges of the complex network. The complex network for modeling the hazard and risk spreading of mine-tailings impoundments is analyzed and characterized by using network metrics such as the network density, geometrical characteristics, characteristic path length, network efficiency, and clustering coefficient. The degree distribution of the network obeys a power-law distribution, indicating that the network for characterizing the risk spreading associated with a tailings facility is scale-free. According to the results of calculations and existing research results, the network is ultrasmall-world. By analyzing the change of the global network efficiency under four kinds of different methods to remove network nodes and edges, network nodes with higher between centrality (BC) are identified as critical. The removal of those critical nodes helps mitigate risks associated with a tailings facility and reveals the vulnerabilities to BC attacks.","PeriodicalId":21067,"journal":{"name":"Resources Environment & Engineering","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2017-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"78929416","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Pathways to Shrink CO2 Emissions in China's Coal Industry","authors":"Jinke Li, Fenghua Wang","doi":"10.15273/GREE.2017.02.026","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15273/GREE.2017.02.026","url":null,"abstract":"While coal fueling China's economic growth it has already been causing severe pollution and amounts of CO 2 emission. How to make deep reductions in carbon emission is not only a huge challenge for the greatest consumer of coal, but also a revolution for China’s coal industry. The paper explores how to shrink CO 2 emissions during the lifetime of coal. The paper points out that increase of coal mine efficiency and productivity, green mining, utilization of coal mine methane and environment-friendly disposal of coal gangue can reduce CO 2 during coal mining; coal preparation and coal by wire can decrease CO 2 during coal preparation and transportation; improving combustion efficiency, CO 2 capture and storage (CCS) and coal transformation can lessen CO 2 during coal utilization. The paper also points out that Circular Economy Park is a practical way to develop a low carbon economy for coal industry. An econometric model for total coal industry and each sector are constructed to measure carbon emissions based on CO 2 equivalent emissions, then with detailed calculations, based on potential greenhouse-gas emission's reduction, a most likely low carbon roadmap of China's coal industry is depicted with scenario analysis method.","PeriodicalId":21067,"journal":{"name":"Resources Environment & Engineering","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2017-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"89088145","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
A. Xavier, A. León, A. Carlier, Manuel Bernales, B. Klein
{"title":"The Role of Participatory Environmental Monitoring Committees in Mining Regions in Peru","authors":"A. Xavier, A. León, A. Carlier, Manuel Bernales, B. Klein","doi":"10.15273/GREE.2017.02.032","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15273/GREE.2017.02.032","url":null,"abstract":"Mining companies and governments at both the local and national levels recognize that Participatory Environmental Monitoring and Surveillance Committees (PEMSC) are necessary mechanisms for meaningful engagement at the community level. In many cases, PEMSCs are established as volunteer initiatives by mining companies or by the mining communities themselves. In Peru however, they can also be recommended by the government as way to address social conflict. Most PEMSCs are launched while a mine is in operation and have the objective of monitoring both water quality and quantity. Many established committees are currently evolving and adopting a more comprehensive approach, as well as expanding their initial scope from a river or micro-basin focus and watchdog agenda, to a broader regional integrated resources management view. This paper examines the origins of Participatory Environmental Monitoring and Surveillance Committees in Peru. It also discusses the typology of these committees, and the scope of their work. Furthermore, it looks at the challenges faced by these committees, as well as existing opportunities for mining companies, governments, and civil society. Finally, this study presents a governance model that could contribute to the long-term existence of these committees. This discussion is further informed by the results of a national workshop that took place in October 2016 in Peru, in which over 200 representatives from 22 monitoring committees, government and mining companies participated.","PeriodicalId":21067,"journal":{"name":"Resources Environment & Engineering","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2017-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"75039902","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Blue Mining – Today’s Mine Planning for Future Mines","authors":"O. Langefeld, A. Binder","doi":"10.15273/GREE.2017.02.001","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15273/GREE.2017.02.001","url":null,"abstract":"The future of mining will be characterized not only by the application of modern technology, but also by the harmonization of economic, environmental and social issues. These areas set major future challenges which are complex and demand extensive knowledge. As an example, mining of highly complex orebodies for the supply of often critical raw materials, needs to consider technically demanding and cost-intensive extraction issues. The amount of tailings, which need to be stored, increases with the amount of ore mined. Therefore, the negative impact on environment and society increases. Hence mining becomes expensive with regard to all three aspects: economy, environment and society. In view of a sustainable mining practice this challenge should be used as an opportunity. The positive impact should be maximized for present and future generations. The objective is to create and use the mining openings in an optimum way related to sustainability. The approach of Blue Mining, which focuses on energy and ergonomics in the field of Sustainable Development, enhances the closure planning by recommending subsequent usage of such openings for energy storage. The approach fosters among others the implementation of the 7th Goal for Sustainable Development defined by the United Nations with the assurance of access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all. The usage of underground storage increases the stability of solar and water power usage, which are otherwise unreliable. Blue Mining embeds these issues in the main planning effort long before groundbreaking. This approach involves experience from past and current projects. This paper introduces the concept of Blue Mining with respect to post-mining utilization of a mine for energy storage. Methods and perspectives are presented with examples covering best-practices and lessons-learned.","PeriodicalId":21067,"journal":{"name":"Resources Environment & Engineering","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2017-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"80175196","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Macroeconomic and Political Determinants of Resource Nationalism","authors":"Wenhua Li, T. Adachi","doi":"10.15273/GREE.2017.02.003","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15273/GREE.2017.02.003","url":null,"abstract":"Resource nationalism is essentially mandatory government intervention in natural resources businesses by political or economic means in order to benefit the nation and the people. It is attacking the mining industry more and more rampantly by all kinds of means since the twenty-first century. Poor countries who count on a resource-led economic growth usually find themselves trapped into “resource curse”. The harmfulness of resource nationalism for investors is that one event can quickly escalate and lead to a chain of events which make projects commercially unavailable. In spite of historical and theoretical social investigations in the causes of resource nationalism, rare studies engaged in quantification of dominant parameters of it. The objective of this study is to find significant factors that dominate the occurrence of resource nationalism for important metal and energy resources producing countries and quantify their marginal effects. The study applies binary choice logit model for panel data using pooled method. One feature of the research is that binary data set of occurrence of resource nationalism are sorted out by authors referencing U.S. Geological Survey’s reports. The results indicate that high-technology export (% manufactured export), ores and metals exports (% merchandise exports), rule of law (world governance indicator), trade (% GDP), and natural resource rent except forest (% GDP ) dominant the occurrence of resource nationalism for high and upper middle income group countries; government effectiveness (world governance indicator), policy perception index (The Fraser Institute), high-technology export (% manufactured export), and mineral rent (% GDP) dominant the occurrence of resource nationalism for lower middle and low income countries. According to our model, probability of occurrence of resource nationalism in 90 countries are predicted. Top 10 risky countries in 2012 are estimated to be North Korea, India, Honduras, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Burkina Faso, Mongolia, Cuba, Bolivia, and Peru. The study is a primary trial of researching on resource nationalism and provides some insights for theoretical building and simulation on the issue.","PeriodicalId":21067,"journal":{"name":"Resources Environment & Engineering","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2017-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"77375774","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}