Monthly Engineering Horizons

By: Jennifer Matthews–Penn State University News Office 

Distribution of three predominant bacterial groups with respect to iron oxide concentration and pH measured and calculated from bioreactor experiments on acid mine drainage. Results from two mine drainage sites in Cambria County are combined. Researchers at Penn State are refining a natural, low-cost process that will help remove some of the most abundant pollutants, such as iron, from mine-contaminated water.

“In this study we researched how quickly ferrous iron was oxidized under set conditions and found out what microbial species lived under these different conditions,” said Bill Burgos, professor of environmental engineering at Penn State. “It’s not only important to know how fast a particular treatment process might be but also which microbes are involved.”

The team enriched iron-oxidizing bacteria from two acid mine drainage sites in Pennsylvania’s Appalachian coal basin and then measured the rates of iron oxidation at low-pH values. The two sites were Scalp Level, which displayed the highest rate of iron oxidation, and Brubaker Run, which displayed an average rate. Both are in Cambria County.

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