2. ENVIRONMENTAL ChEMISTRy & TEChNOLOGy 2.1. Lectures

Chem. Listy, 102, s265–s1311 (2008) Environmental Chemistry & Technology
P06 INFLuENCE OF ThE COMPOSITE SORbENT
ON ThE CONTENT OF SELECTED ELEMENTS
IN ThE SEDIMENT LOAD OF ThE wATER
RESERVOIR AND SLuDGE bED
Ján BREHUV, OľGA ŠESTInOVá, TOMISLAV
ŠPALDOn, PAVEL SLAnČO, JOZEF HAnČUľáK and
ERIKA FEDOROVá
Institute of Geotechnics of Slovak Academy of Sciences, Watsonova
45, 045 53 Košice,
brehuv@saske.sk
Introduction
Sediment load of the streams and water reservoirs
(hereinafter as WR) are a result of erosive and sedimentation
processes of the respective basins. The term “sediment load”
is used in hydrology according to the norm actually in force 1 .
Geology and geochemistry 2 use the terms “river and bottom
sediments”. The mining waste deposited in mine sludge beds 3
constitute a residue of mining and treatment processes. Pollution
of WR with sediment load causes problems in the decreasing
of water content in the WR 4 aggravating the protection
of the surrounding territory against floods, etc. That is why
the sediment load (bottom sediments) need to be removed
from the WR 5 . Due to great amounts of sediments it needs to
be decided not only on how to extract the sediments, but also
on how to store or dispose of them.
Sludge beds are objects where waste created at mining
extraction of raw materials and mainly created as a result of
the following treatment technologies is deposited or sedimented.
They are designed and built so that they do not constitute
a danger for the surrounding environment. Despite the
facts mentioned above the unwilling seepage of waters from
the sludge beds to the ground water occurs. The waters from
the sludge bed draining containing various elements flow
into the surface streams. Depending on their level of contamination
by various elements, mainly heavy metals (HM)
the water in the surface streams and then their sediments are
contaminated 6,7 .
The sediment load of streams and reservoirs may be
classified as hydromorphic, subhydric soils 8 . However, there
is a difference resting in the method of their contamination
by various elements. They are situated in a different aquatic
environment and catch contaminants from several sources.
They are contaminated by a wider spectrum of elements than
soils what makes their use 9 or treatment more complicated.
That is fully true also about the sediment load and the mining
waster in the basins of the Hornád River (Fig. 1.) treatment
of which is using a composite sorbent is the subject of this
paper (poster).
The literature proves that only the treatment of drinking
waters 10 , industrial waters 10,11 and soils using natural zeolites
was successful. There are published results of an experimental
testing of other natural materials, but they relate to soil treatment
12,13 only. However, it seems that there is a need to find
a specific technological procedure with a specific sorbent 14
s345
Fig. 1. Situation map of the hornad river basin
for the treatment of soil, sediment or mining waste deposited
on the dumping sites (dumps) or sludge beds (Fig. 2.) for
a longer period of time.
Fig. 2. Situation map of the dumps localities in hornad river
basin
Experimental works
The most suitable solution of the problem of HM contaminated
sediments should be their extraction after previous
solution of reduction of the content or stabilization of
dangerous HM contained in the sediment load (bottom sediments).
That is why the first laboratory experiments were
carried out at the beginning of 2007 monitoring the impact
of the inorganic composite sorbent to reduce the content or
stabilization of the elements in the sediment load of the water
reservoir “Ružín I”. According to the producer of this sorbent
it is made from natural raw materials. It is mixture of atomically
clays, smectite basalt tuffs, alginate, dolomite, gypsum,
zeolite, coal and others. Proportion of individual components
is trade secret. Qualitative mineralogical analysis of this
sorbent was made by X-ray diffraction analysis. It contain
amorphous phase, calcite ( > 15 %) as dominant minerals
and quartz, sericite, chlorit-caolinite, dolomite (3–15 %)