Evaluation of acid mine drainage characterization for predicting post drainage water quality in coal mines

In the surface coal mine, coal is extracted by removing topsoil and overburden above the coal seam layer. The thickness of the coal seam is various, depending on the geological formation of coal sedimentation. In most cases, more than several meters of the seams could exist on the sedimentation of coal. Therefore, during the extraction of coal, the reduction of surface level is unavoidable. As the consequences, a vast hole in the surface, usually called as a void, is formed and develops into a water body to the surrounding environment. Acid mine drainage (AMD) is extremely dangerous because of its low pH (usually below 5) and high concentration of heavy metals, sulfate and salinity. When the disturbed surfaces, such as pit walls and front mining, are exposed to the air and leached by water, AMD will occur due to the abundant availability of sulfide minerals. Accumulation of acidic water in the void could happen. Thus, the study about the assessment of water quality post-mining drainage along with the impact of surface change to the ecosystem, is prominent to be conducted. This paper evaluates AMD characterization of rock samples by using static test, consists of paste pH, Acid Base Accounting (ABA) method of balancing the value of acid capacity from Total Sulfur test and neutralization capacity from Acid Neutralizing Capacity (ANC) test and Net Acid Generating (NAG) test for predicting the water quality of post drainage in the void. XRD analysis was also conducted to discuss mineralogy of the samples. Kinetic test was carried out to assess the final acidity production of rock samples. Validation of the predicted result was performed by simulating the leachate water mixing from the result of kinetic test in the PHREEQC Interactive software.