Floating bioplato for purification of waste quarry waters from mineral nitrogen compounds in the Arctic

ABSTRACT

A bioplato was organized at Kirovogorskiy pond-settling of OLKON Company (the city of Olenegorsk, in Murmansk region) to reduce the content of nitrogen mineral compounds in water which come into the pond with the quarry waters after blasting operations using nitrogen compounds. The assortment of aboriginal plants was selected, a method of fixing and growing them on the water surface was developed, and observations of their vegetation were carried out. The dynamics of nitrogen compounds was determined in the laboratory and with full-scale tests. The coverage area pond by plants for the effective reduction of mineral nitrogen compounds was calculated. The use of floating bioplato helped to reduce content of ammonium and nitrite to maximum permissible levels or even lower in pond water. Also there was a tendency towards reduction of nitrate concentrations in water. The developmental technology can be used in any climatic zone with a specific assortment of plants-ameliorants.

KEYWORDS:

• Bioplato
• nitrogen compounds
• purification
• waste quarry waters

Acknowledgments

The authors express special gratitude to T.M. Atavina, the lead engineer in the environmental department, for her interest and support of this research study.

Funding

The authors would like to thank the board of directors of the Olenegorskiy mining and processing plant (the Olkon Company) for its financial support of this study.