INVESTIGATING PIGMENT PRODUCTION OF ACID MINE DRAINAGE IN PENNSYLVANIA’S ANTHRACITE COAL BELT

Pennsylvania played a major role in fueling the Industrial Revolution and continues to be a leading coal producer in the United States today. Due to this, many abandoned coal mines can be found in the central-eastern region of the state in an area known as the Anthracite Coal Belt. However, these mines become the source of a major environmental issue that will become the focus of our research project.

Acid Mine Drainage (AMD) occurs when water and oxygen come into contact with reactive minerals that are exposed due to mining activity. The oxidation of these minerals produces heavy metals and acids, which pollute downstream environments and transform streams into a rust-colored orange. This causes environmental impacts not only for animals and plants living in the area but for public health as drinking water can easily be contaminated. AMD can have an effect that lasts for hundreds of years. It is a worldwide issue but is especially relevant in Pennsylvania as it contains coal mines with AMD more than any other state in the country.

In this project, we combine fieldwork in the Anthracite Coal Belt near Pottstown as well as laboratory work to investigate the mineral properties of precipitates that are produced in AMD environments. Using X-ray powder diffraction, we identified the AMD, collected at Silver Creek near New Philadelphia, PA, to consist of mainly ferrihydrite. We attempt to replicate previous research and investigate the transformation of AMD into pigment that can be used for production specifically focusing on linseed oil-based paints. In this method, bodies of water could be actively treated and the profit made from pigment could possibly be used to offset money to remediate AMD.