Metal remediation of acid mine drainage using a hybrid system of microalgae reactor

Acid mine drainage(AMD) contains high concentrations of heavy metals and has become a serious environmental problem. A pipes inserted microalgae reactor(PIMR) was constructed to cultivate microalgae and purify AMD. The effects of metal concentration, pH and sulfate after pretreatment on the removal of iron and microalgae growth were investigated. Batch studies showed that PIMR and microalgae can adsorb iron with an uptake of 63.21 ± 9.8 mg/L iron. Microalgae growth was measured by optical density (OD) and dry cell weight (DCW); OD and DCW were 3.96 and 1.54g/L respectively. Continuous studies also proved that PIMR can be used for metal remediation and microalgae cultivation.