• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Soil and Groundwater Environment Conference
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• 2005.10a
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• pp.59-61
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• 2005

In Korea, hundreds of abandoned and closed coal and metallic mines are present in the steep mountain valleys due to the depression of the mining industry since the late 1980s. From these mines, enormous amounts of coal waste were dumped on the slopes, which causes sedimentation and acid mine drainage (AMD) to be discharged directly into streams causing detrimental effects on soil and water environments. A limestone slurry by-product (lime cake) is produced from the Solvay process in manufacturing soda ash. It has very fine particles, low hydraulic conductivities ($10^{-8}{\sim}10^{-9}cm/sec$), high pH, high EC due to the presence of CaO, MgO and $CaCl_2$ as major components, and traces of heavy metals. Due to these properties, it has potential to be used as a neutralizer for acid-producing materials. A field plot experiment was used to test the application of lime cake for reclaiming coal wastes. Each plot was 20 x 5 m (L x W) in size on a 56% slope. Treatments included a control (waste only), calcite ($CaCO_3$), and lime cake. The lime requirement (LR) for the coal waste to pH 7.0 was determined and treatments consisted of adding 100%, 50%, and 25% of the LR. The lime cake and calcite were also applied in either a layer between the coal waste and topsoil or mixed into the topsoil and coal waste. Each plot was hydroseeded with grasses and planted with trees. In each plot, surface runoff and subsurface water were collected. The lime cake treatments increased the pH of coal waste from 3.5 to 6, and neutralized the pH of the runoff and leachate of the coal waste from 4.3 to 6.7.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Soil and Groundwater Environment Conference
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• 2005.10a
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• pp.254-256
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• 2005

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Building Construction Conference
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• 2022.11a
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• pp.189-190
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• 2022

Power plants that produce electricity through thermal power plants mainly store coal in outdoor storage yards. In particular, coal is directly exposed to rainwater during rainfall, including torrential rain. There is no separate drainage facility in the outdoor coal yard, and coal is simply stored on the ground. Accordingly, during rainfall, coal dust flows down by rainwater, and a large amount of rainwater that is not drained overflows the outdoor coal yard, overflowing the surrounding facilities and causing environmental pollution. Therefore, in this study, a drainage system was developed for the rapid drainage of an outdoor coal mine, and the quality of the water was evaluated when rainwater mixed with drainage characteristics and coal dust was discharged through the drainage system.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.163-183
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• 2019

We investigated acid mine drainage (AMD) of Bongyang abandoned coal mine, Danyang, Chungbuk Province with emphasis on geochemical contaminants in AMD and precipitates using chemical analyses, XRD, SEM, IR, and $^{27}Al$ NMR. Water chemistry changes with pH and oversaturation of chemical species. According to calculation of saturation index, the AMD is saturated with various Fe, Al minerals. Orange or orcher precipitates are composed of schwertmannite and goethite, associated with Leptothrix orchracea bacteria, whereas whitish precipitates are composed mostly of alumimous minerals such as basaluminite with poor crystallinity. The whitish precipitates include trace $Al_{13}$-Tridecamer. It is important to control the precipitation and solubility of aluminous species for ensuring remediation and control for the AMD discharged from the Bongyang abandoned coal mine.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.579-598
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• 2019

We investigated geochemical contaminants and Fe, Al behavior in precipitates of acid mine drainage (AMD) from the Donghae abandoned coal mine, Taebaek, Gangwon Province using aqueous chemical analyses, XRD, IR, and ²⁷Al NMR, Our results showed that water chemistry changed with pH and Eh, and saturation indices of chemical species in the AMD. According to saturation calculated by visual MINTEQ, the AMD was saturated with various Fe-, Al-oxyhydroxide minerals. Reddish brown precipitates are composed of schwertmannite, ferrihydrite, and goethite, whereas whitish precipitates are composed mostly of alumimous minerals such as poorly crystallized basaluminite with trace Al₁₃-Tridecamer. It is important to apply active treatment methods rather than simple storage pond and to control the precipitation and solubility of iron species and aluminous species for ensuring remediation and control for the AMD discharged from the Donghae abandoned coal mine.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Soil and Groundwater Environment Conference
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• 2004.04a
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• pp.167-174
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• 2004

Several metalliferous and coal mines, including Myungjin, Seojin and Okdong located at the upper watershed of Okdong stream, were abandoned or closed since 1988 due to the mining industry promotion policy and thus disposed an enormous amount of mining wastes without a proper treatment facilities, resulting in water pollution in the downstream areas. AMD and waste effluents from the closed coal mines were very strongly acidic showing pH ranges of 2.7 to 4.5 and had a high level of total dissolved solid (TDS) showing the ranges of 1,030 to 1,947 mg/L. Also heavy metal concentrations in these samples such as Fe, Cu, Cd and anion such as sulfate were very high. These parameters of AMD and effluents were considered to be highly polluted as compared to those in the main stream area of the Okdong river and be major pollutants for water and soil in tile downstream area. Pollution indices of the surface water at the upper stream of Okdong river where AMD of the abandoned coal mines was flowed into main stream were in the ranges of 16.3 to 47.1. On the other hand, those at the mid stream where effluents from tailing dams and coal mines flowed into main stream were in tile ranges of 10.6 to 19.5. However, those at the lower stream were ranged from 10.6 to 14.9 These results indicated that mining wastes such as AMD and effluents from the closed mines were tile major source to water pollution at the Okdong stream areas.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.33 no.5
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• pp.391-404
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• 2000

This study investigated the geochemical characteristics of mine drainage discharged from an abandoned coal mine in the Hwasoon area. Surface water samples were collected from 23 locations along the Hancheon creek. The concentration of Zn and Cu in stream waters was highest at low pH (3.53), whereas the content of TDS and TDI was highest at high pH (7.78) due to the concentration of Ca, $HCO_3$ and $SO_4$. At the upstream site, the Ba, Fe, Mn, Zn, and $SO_4$ contents were relatively high but decreased significantly with the distance from the coal mine. On the contrary, the Na and $NO_3$ contents were low at the upstream site but increased downstream. Yellow precipitate material collected in the Hancheon consisted mainly of iron and LOI. This yellow precipitate was heated from 100 to $900^{\circ}C$ for 1 hour. With increasing temperature, the intensity of hematite peaks were sharply produced in X-ray pattern and the absorption band Fe-O of hematite increased in IR due to dehydration and melting. The yellow to brown precipitate and evaporite materials were collected by a air-dry from the acid mine water at the laboratory. After drying, the concentration of ions in the acid water samples increased progressively in oversaturation with respect to either gypsum, ferrohexahydrite or quenstedetite. The X-ray powder diffraction studies identified that the precipitated and evaporated materials after drying were well crystallized gypsum, ferrohexahydrite and quenstedetite. Diagnostic peaks used for identification of gypsum were the 7.65, 4.28, 3.03, 2.87 and 2.48$\AA$ peaks and those for ferrohexahydrite were the 5.46, 5.12, 4.89, 4.44, 4.05, 3.62, 3.46, 3.40, 3.20, 3.03, 2.94, 2.53, 2.28, 2.07, 1.88 and 1.86${\AA} peaks. The IR spectra with OH-stretching, deformation of $H_2O$and ${SO_4}^{2-}$stretching vibration include the existence of gypsum, ferrohexahydrite and quenstedetite in the precipitated and evaporite materials. In the SEM and EDS analysis for the evaporite material, gypsum with well-crystallized, acicular, and columnar form was distinctly observed.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.49 no.3
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• pp.243-248
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• 2016

This study was conducted to evaluate the applicability and efficiency of water supply using hydraulic ram pump. Study area is the Imgok-ri, Hwanam-myeon, Sanju-si, Kyeongsangbuk-do. There is an abandoned coal mine, where groundwater is discharged from its entrance with a flow rate of approximately $260m^3/day$. Hydraulic ram pump uses the waterhammer phenomenon and utilizes the power of falling water for pumping part of that water to a higher elevation than the water sources without electric power. To determine the efficiency of hydraulic ram pump, the flow rate was measured at three points according to the altitude difference (${\Delta}h=19m$ (point 1), 30 m (point 2), 40 m (point 3)). Flow rate measured at 1, 2, and 3 were about $8.6{\sim}10.8m^3/day$, $3.98{\sim}4.39m^3/day$, and $2.35{\sim}2.59m^3/day$, respectively. The current results suggested that, hydraulic ram pump could be applicable for the water supply system in mountain areas without external power supply.