The first scientific paper within the Life DEMINE project has been published in the Ecological Indicators journal. The main objective of the paper was to evaluate the efficiency of the technology proposed by the Life DEMINE project (nanofiltration technology and the combination of nanofiltration + electrocoagulation) in reducing the ecological impacts caused by mining effluents with high loads of heavy metals from the abandoned Frongoch mine (Wales). In this study, aquatic biofilms were used as a bioindicator and were exposed to a real metal mining effluent, untreated or treated by these technologies in separate microcosms. Different samplings were performed over time, water and biofilm samples were taken on each sampling day to determine physicochemical variables and biofilm structural and functional responses.
The results obtained evidenced the ecological impact caused by the high concentrations of metals, specifically zinc, cadmium and lead from abandoned mines in aquatic ecosystems. At the same time, this study also demonstrated the ability of biofilm to act as a bioindicator of metal contamination for its sensitivity and ability to accumulate metals at low concentrations in water, even below detection limits. In this sense, an effect was observed on both the functional and structural capacities and on the composition of the algal community and its photosynthetic efficiency. The technologies tested were found to be an effective and viable solution for treating these effluents, as they significantly reduced the ecological impact of mining operations and highlight the need to find a solution to treat these highly polluted effluents.
Vendrell-Puigmitja, L., Abril, M., Proia, L., Angona, C. E., Ricart, M., Oatley-Radcliffe, D. L., … & Llenas, L. (2020). Assessing the effects of metal mining effluents on freshwater ecosystems using biofilm as an ecological indicator: Comparison between nanofiltration and nanofiltration with electrocoagulation treatment technologies. Ecological Indicators, 113, 106213.