#16: ASMR 2018 Presentation: MnOx Production and Harvesting

Posted January 19, 2018

“Manganese Oxide Production and Harvesting Using Metal Removal Units”

Im really looking forward to visiting St Louis and climbing the arch. Here is the abstract! Cheers, and hope to see you there! Colin

Manganese Oxide Production and Harvesting Using Metal Removal Units

C.A. Lennox

Abstract: Metal Reclamations Units (MRUs) are gravity driven, modular, scalable, rapidly

deployed wetland bioreactors. The biofilm which grows upon the organic supporting matrix in

the MRUs is self-selecting and determined by the introduced pollutant loads and how they are

naturally attenuated. MRUs remove Mn at pH <7 when total Fe is removed to <0.35 mg/L,

organic carbon is available, and 4-6 weeks is allowed for biomass accrual in mild to warm

Weather. It is hypothesized that organic carbon from upstream wetlands are a food source driving

fungal oxidation of Mn2+ to MnOx (Birnessite). When the noted conditions are

achieved/surpassed, Mn2+ is removed at rates up to 370 grams/m3/day at 225+ Lpm. Data

suggests that organic carbon and organic structural matrix additives which consider

complimenting/conjoined biofilm metabolic pathways increase biological remediation of metals. Further,

this method of biological manganese oxide production provides useful byproducts for further

water treatment, the battery industry, and agriculture.

Additional Keywords: biofilm, natural attenuation, fungal manganese oxidation

Oral paper presented at the 2018 National Meeting of the American Society of Mining and

Reclamation, St. Louis, MO: The Gateway to Land Reclamation, June 3 – 7, 2018. Published

by ASMR; 1305 Weathervane Dr., Champaign, IL 61821.

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