Post by 1dave on Nov 6, 2019 12:47:46 GMT -5
This needs to be shared.
Lindsey Maness - Acid Mine Drainage.
It is easy and inexpensive to eliminate acid mine drainage and arsenic as a pollutant in water. All you have to do is buy recycled steel (aka tin cans) that have been crushed and let the acid mine drainage flow through it. The copper in the water will also gradually replace the iron in the steel.
Every so often, from once per year to once per decade or so, as necessary, replace the crushed iron cans and recycle it for the contained copper, silver, gold, arsenic, etc.
The "Best Available Technology" accepted by the E.P.A. is far more expensive and far less effective at neutralizing the acid and recovering dissolved metals. The E.P.A. opposes the use of recycled iron for remediation because some of the iron goes into solution as ferrous (+2) ions that are considered to be mildly toxic. The ferrous iron also is a nutrient for plants, fishes, animals, etc.: most of that which goes into solution drops out quickly or changes to the non-toxic ferric form.
As long as the E.P.A. mandates the use of less effective and more expensive clean-ups, some mining companies will file bankruptcy (usually of a subsidiary!) rather than pay for remediation!
Just telling it the way it is, folks! If you want to see how good iron is at removing dissolved arsenic, check how the very poor country, Bangladesh, was able to correct severe and widespread arsenic poisoning (many deaths) by using cast iron broken into chunks that the water was percolated through, usually at individual homes! Oh, and by the way, a robust market for arsenic exists, which we could easily fill from domestic sources (mostly in mine waste) but which we choose to buy at significant cost from our "friends" in China, Russia, ...! Allow us to extract and market our own arsenic! This would safely remove it from our environment!
Oh, and by the way, most arsenic is used by the DoD and by the aerospace industry, in ThermoPhotoVoltaics (TPV) devices that directly convert heat into electricity, very much analogous to PhotoVoltaics (PV) which converts sunlight into electricity. In our military (DoD), the biggest use is in making nuclear submarines quiet: TPV makes electricity without moving parts. In my opinion, we should use far more TPV, which would require far more arsenic, as an expanded alternative source of energy. We directly waste an unconscionable amount of energy in the form of heat! One man's trash is another man's treasure!
I am planning, as a geologist and scientist, to remediate the mine wastes West of Denver, most of them sulfides, in the near future. We will also be extracting REE, Te and other elements (mostly semiconductors) considered to be strategically necessary. Over 2,000 piles of mine waste exist in about 6 counties, much of it visible (eye-sores!) along I-70. One of the things I plan to do is to use iron, as in the above! It will be interesting to see whether the E.P.A. is really interested in remediating pollutants or in preventing mining and remediation!
Oh, and by the way, for those of us interested in prosperity, I estimate the total (gross, not net) value of this effort will be in the trillions of dollars, with at least 2,000 new jobs!
It is easy and inexpensive to eliminate acid mine drainage and arsenic as a pollutant in water. All you have to do is buy recycled steel (aka tin cans) that have been crushed and let the acid mine drainage flow through it. The copper in the water will also gradually replace the iron in the steel.
Every so often, from once per year to once per decade or so, as necessary, replace the crushed iron cans and recycle it for the contained copper, silver, gold, arsenic, etc.
The "Best Available Technology" accepted by the E.P.A. is far more expensive and far less effective at neutralizing the acid and recovering dissolved metals. The E.P.A. opposes the use of recycled iron for remediation because some of the iron goes into solution as ferrous (+2) ions that are considered to be mildly toxic. The ferrous iron also is a nutrient for plants, fishes, animals, etc.: most of that which goes into solution drops out quickly or changes to the non-toxic ferric form.
As long as the E.P.A. mandates the use of less effective and more expensive clean-ups, some mining companies will file bankruptcy (usually of a subsidiary!) rather than pay for remediation!
Just telling it the way it is, folks! If you want to see how good iron is at removing dissolved arsenic, check how the very poor country, Bangladesh, was able to correct severe and widespread arsenic poisoning (many deaths) by using cast iron broken into chunks that the water was percolated through, usually at individual homes! Oh, and by the way, a robust market for arsenic exists, which we could easily fill from domestic sources (mostly in mine waste) but which we choose to buy at significant cost from our "friends" in China, Russia, ...! Allow us to extract and market our own arsenic! This would safely remove it from our environment!
Oh, and by the way, most arsenic is used by the DoD and by the aerospace industry, in ThermoPhotoVoltaics (TPV) devices that directly convert heat into electricity, very much analogous to PhotoVoltaics (PV) which converts sunlight into electricity. In our military (DoD), the biggest use is in making nuclear submarines quiet: TPV makes electricity without moving parts. In my opinion, we should use far more TPV, which would require far more arsenic, as an expanded alternative source of energy. We directly waste an unconscionable amount of energy in the form of heat! One man's trash is another man's treasure!
I am planning, as a geologist and scientist, to remediate the mine wastes West of Denver, most of them sulfides, in the near future. We will also be extracting REE, Te and other elements (mostly semiconductors) considered to be strategically necessary. Over 2,000 piles of mine waste exist in about 6 counties, much of it visible (eye-sores!) along I-70. One of the things I plan to do is to use iron, as in the above! It will be interesting to see whether the E.P.A. is really interested in remediating pollutants or in preventing mining and remediation!
Oh, and by the way, for those of us interested in prosperity, I estimate the total (gross, not net) value of this effort will be in the trillions of dollars, with at least 2,000 new jobs!
