A greenhouse study on phytostabilization of sulfidic mine tailings
department or school: Applied Science, Faculty of
department or school: Mining Engineering, Keevil Institute of
data provider: DSpace
degree campus: UBCV
creator: Xie, Lina
issued: 2023-04-19T17:18:07Z
issued: 2023
related degree: Doctor of Philosophy - PhD
degree grantor: University of British Columbia
description: The reclamation of sulfidic mine tailings with the potential to release toxic metals into the surrounding environment, has been an urgent, yet difficult, task for a long period. Direct revegetation is a more cost-effective reclamation method than a multilayer covering system on tailings. Phytostabilization can stabilize toxic metals in the rhizosphere, which is an emerging revegetation method in mine reclamation. Since previous research has not looked into the inorganic geochemical processes in the rhizosphere, a greenhouse study was conducted to explore the geochemical processes affecting the mobility of As, Cu, Pb, and Zn through the establishment of phytostabilization on sulfidic mine tailings. The three-month greenhouse experiment selected candidates for phytostabilization from four grass species in North America: wheat, ryegrass, tall fescue, and sheep fescue. The effectiveness of amendments (bauxite residue, lime, and compost), on enhancing plant growth and metal stabilization were analyzed. Total metals in plants, tailings, and substrates after pot experiments were analyzed, the mineralogy of materials before and after experiments were quantified, and drainage from each pot was collected weekly for metal analysis. The results show wheat and ryegrass can stabilize more metals in roots than in aboveground tissues, so they are good candidates for phytostabilization. Three amendments can improve the tailing pH, grass survival, and plant growth, but compost should be carefully considered for the phytostabilization of Zn. During experiments, pH decreased and metal concentrations in the drainage from amended tailings started to increase from the 6th or 7th week, suggesting that sulfide oxidation, organic matter decomposition, and root exudates are three processes of soil acidification. The other geochemical processes affecting metal mobility include neutralization processes at such sequences: (1) dissolution of carbonates, (2) dissolution of Al- and Fe- (oxy)hydroxi…
aggregated CHO: https://circle.library.ubc.ca/rest/handle/2429/84323
note: A GREENHOUSE STUDY ON PHYTOSTABILIZATION OF SULFIDIC MINE TAILINGS by LINA XIE B.A.Sc., China University of Geosciences (Wuhan), 2013 M.A.Sc., China University of Geosciences (Wuhan), 2016 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE AND POSTDOCTORAL STUDIES (Mining Engineering) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Vancouver) April 2023 © Lina Xie, 2023 ii The following individuals certify that they have read, and recommend to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies for acceptance, the dissertation entitled: A greenhouse study on phytostabilization of sulfidic mine tailings submitted by Lina Xie in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Mining Engineering Examining Committee: Dirk van Zyl, Professor, Mining Engineering, UBC Supervisor Ulrich Mayer, Professor, Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences, UBC Supervisory Committee Member Maria E. Holuszko Associate Professor, Mining Engineering, UBC Supervisory Committee Member Scott Dunbar, Professor, Mining Engineering, UBC University Examiner Susan A. Baldwin, Professor, Chemical and Biological Engineering, UBC University Examiner iii Abstract The reclamation of sulfidic mine tailings with the potential to release toxic metals into the surrounding environment, has been an urgent, yet difficult, task for a long period. Direct revegetation is a more cost-effective reclamation method than a multilayer covering system on tailings. Phytostabilization can stabilize toxic metals in the rhizosphere, which is an emerging revegetation method in mine reclamation. Since previous research has not looked into the inorganic geochemical processes in the rhizosphere, a greenhouse study was conducted to explore the geochemical processes affecting the mobility of As, Cu, Pb, and Zn through the establishment of phytostabilization on sulfidic mine tailings. The three-month greenhouse experiment selected candida…
has type: Thesis/Dissertation
date issued: 2023-05
is shown at: 10.14288/1.0431194
language: eng
degree discipline: Mining Engineering
provider: Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
publisher: University of British Columbia
rights: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
rights URI: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
scholar level: Graduate
contributor: Van Zyl, Dirk J. A.
type: Text
identifier URI: http://hdl.handle.net/2429/84323