Assessment of Bed Hydraulics and Metal Loadings in a Passive Vertical Flow Bioreactor in Commerce, Oklahoma

A treatment pond, with an engineered bed that served as a passive vertical flow bioreactor (VFBR), was operated as part of a passive sequenced treatment system for the removal of metals from groundwater at the Mayer Ranch in Commerce, Oklahoma. The groundwater was contaminated by mining activities i...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Ground water monitoring & remediation 2019-06, Vol.39 (3), p.40-47
Main Authors: Cremeans, M.M., Devlin, J.F., Osorno, T.C., Nairn, R.W.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Artesian springs
Bioreactors
Boreholes
Cadmium
Chemical reactions
Columns (structural)
Commerce
Flow rates
Flow velocity
Fluid dynamics
Fluid flow
Groundwater
Groundwater mining
Groundwater pollution
Groundwater treatment
Heavy metals
Hydraulics
Inflow
Lead
Metals
Nickel
Nonuniform flow
Organic chemistry
Outflow
Ponds
Streambeds
Velocity
Vertical flow
Vertical mixing
Water balance
Water flow
Water springs
Water treatment
Zinc
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Summary:A treatment pond, with an engineered bed that served as a passive vertical flow bioreactor (VFBR), was operated as part of a passive sequenced treatment system for the removal of metals from groundwater at the Mayer Ranch in Commerce, Oklahoma. The groundwater was contaminated by mining activities in west Commerce and discharges at this location occurred as artesian springs through improperly abandoned, over‐drilled, and cased legacy boreholes. The VFBR operated by establishing reducing conditions in the organic bed of a pond to promote metal sorption and precipitation as sulfides. In order to verify that operations were unhindered by nonuniform flow in the VFBR, an assessment of the flow uniformity in the pond was undertaken using the streambed point velocity probe (SBPVP). The velocity data were independently validated with a water balance. The outflow calculated from the SBPVP data came within 30% of the value suggested by measured inflow rates to the pond, supporting the conclusion that the SBPVP measurements were representative of flow in the VFBR, and that flow through the bed was occurring with a satisfactory level of uniformity. Water flow rates through the reactive bed were found to be up to an order of magnitude greater than those employed in the prior column testing, contributing to metal loading rates (of Cd, Pb, Zn, Ni) estimated to be two orders of magnitude greater than those tested in the columns (4.2 × 104 and 3.2 × 102 mg/m3/d, respectively). However, apparently rapid chemical reactions that likely occurred close to the pond water‐sediment interface contributed to the treatment system achieving its design objectives.
ISSN:1069-3629
1745-6592
DOI:10.1111/gwmr.12337