Using Mine Heat to Bolster Efficiency and Lifetime of SRB Bioreactors

Abstract

More abandoned mines exist today than ever before. Many of these are located in remote regions, set apart from energy sources, people and infrastructure, rendering necessary remediation efforts in these areas slow-moving, and in many cases nonexistent. The primary demand from the industry for these sites is a passive system that utilizes locally available and cheap material. Often the geothermal gradient available in mines, or the corresponding geothermal reservoir conditions proximal to the mine, is a viable heat energy source that can provide advantageous temperature conditions for established remediation techniques, namely bioremediation, which can run on diverse, inexpensive, and locally available material. Although geothermal direct use and bioremediation are proven technologies when practiced independently, the combination of both is not straight forward. The following presentation will address the chemical, thermal, hydrological and biological intricacies of this process and its promise for providing relevant remediation to abandoned metal mines in remote regions.