Patent ID: 9272934
Filing Date: 2016-03-01
CPC Classification: C02F

Claim Text:
1. A method for remediation of selenate content in runoff from overburden of surface coal mining, comprising: collecting rainwater runoff that has leached through rocks of the overburden, in at least one detention pond, withdrawing collected runoff water from the pond, prefiltering the withdrawn runoff water to remove particulate material, assuring pH of the prefiltered runoff water is within a range of about pH 5.0 to about pH 7.0, and adjusting pH of the runoff water when necessary, pumping the runoff water through a reactor column, in a vessel containing a contact bed of SMI which the runoff water contacts, thereby removing a significant portion of dissolved selenate from the runoff water, to produce a treated water, and further including periodically expanding and loosening the contact bed of SMI by fluffing the contact bed with a high-velocity upflow of water through the bed.