Ecology and Resilient Infrastructure

Korean Society of Ecology and Infrastructure Engineering (응용생태공학회)
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Effect of Pyrite and Indigenous Bacteria on Electricity Generation Using Mine Tailings

황철석과 토착미생물이 광미를 활용한 전기 생산에 미치는 영향

  • Ju, Won Jung (Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Seoul National University) ;
  • Jho, Eun Hea (Department of Environmental Science, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies) ;
  • Nam, Kyoungphile (Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Seoul National University)
  • 주원정 (서울대학교 건설환경공학부) ;
  • 조은혜 (한국외국어대학교 환경학과) ;
  • 남경필 (서울대학교 건설환경공학부)
  • Received : 2015.03.03
  • Accepted : 2015.03.20
  • Published : 2015.03.31
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Abstract

Acid mine drainage (AMD) producing mine tailings can be beneficially recycled to generate electricity by applying fuel cell technology. Pyrite-containing mine tailings and indigenous bacteria from abandoned mine areas were used to construct fuel cells to investigate the effect of pyrite contents and the presence of iron-oxidizing bacteria. The results showed an enhanced electrical performance with a higher content of pyrite in mine tailings. The inoculation of the indigenous bacteria also enhanced the current density by about three times, and the power density by about 10 times. Overall, this study shows that the combined use of the ecological function of indigenous bacteria from mine areas and mine-tailings in fuel cells does not only contribute to reducing harmful effects of mine tailings but also generate electricity.

본 연구는 산성광산배수를 유발하는 광미를 연료전지 기술에 적용하여 유용하게 활용할 수 있는지 알아보기 위해 수행하였다. 황철석 성분을 함유한 광미와 철산화를 촉진하기 위한 철산화균을 포함한 토착세균을 사용하여 미생물연료전지를 구성하여, 광미 내 황철석 함량이 높을수록 연료전지의 전기적 효율이 향상됨을 확인하였다. 또한, 광미를 활용한 연료전지에서 토착세균 주입을 통해 전류밀도와 전력밀도를 각각 3배, 10배 정도 향상시켜, 철산화에 관여하는 미생물의 주입이 광미를 이용한 연료전지 효율 향상에 도움이 됨을 확인하였다. 본 연구는 광산 지역 토착세균의 생태학적 기능을 연료전지 기술과 활용해 광미로부터 오염유발 우려물질을 저감함과 동시에 전기 생산이 가능함을 확인하여, 광미를 활용한 미생물연료전지 기술이 광미의 무해화 및 전기 생산을 위한 기술로 사용될 수 있음을 보여준다.

Keywords

References

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  1. Application of Galvanic Oxidation and Pyrite Dissolution for Sustainable In-Situ Mine Tailings Treatment vol.3, pp.4, 2016, https://doi.org/10.17820/eri.2016.3.4.279
  2. Determining the reuse of metal mine wastes based on leaching test and human health risk assessment vol.24, pp.1, 2018, https://doi.org/10.4491/eer.2017.211