Tin Mine Runoff Treatment Breakthrough

If the Pilot Project Succeeds, the Pioneering Work Involving the Use of Algae to Clean up Toxic Water Could Have Worldwide Implications

A centuries-old Westcountry tin mine is playing a key role in a trailblazing anti-pollution project which could produce biofuel and valuable metals - while improving the lives of millions of people around the world.

The disused Wheal Jane, near Chacewater in West Cornwall, is the site of a revolutionary research initiative involving scientists from two Westcountry institutions. If the pilot project succeeds, the pioneering work involving the use of algae to clean up toxic water could have worldwide implications - and put the region at the forefront of a much sought-after new industry.

The project is being carried out by the GW4 Alliance, which brings together experts from the Plymouth Marine Laboratory with colleagues from the universities of Exeter, Bath, Bristol and Cardiff, along with the Coal Authority and the Veolia waste management group.

They are taking untreated mine water samples from flooded Wheal Jane and growing algae in them in a laboratory.

They are monitoring whether the algae can remove harmful, naturally-occurring substances, such as heavy metals, from the water. But in addition, researchers are also examining whether the algae can then be converted into a solid, from which rare earth metals can be extracted for use by the high-tech electronics industry in mobile phones and tablets, with the remainder used to make fertiliser and biofuels.

Dr Mike Allen, an algal biotechnologist at PML, who is involved in the work, said: "It is incredibly exciting - and daunting.

"Acidic waste run-off from mines is not a regional issue restricted to Cornwall, it is a global problem, particularly in the developing world where clean-up activities are often ignored because of their high cost and low return. What we are trying to do is take a clean-up process which costs money, and turn it into something which can make money. If we can do that, then it is something which can be applied to great effect in the developing world. There, life is cheap. Unfortunately we live in a world where in places the impact of a contaminated environment on human health is deemed an acceptable consequence of industrial activity. Often pPeople in power don't care that rivers are dirty and contaminated with nasty metals, as long as the money keeps coming in from mines. We will provide the strongest incentive possible for people and governments to improve the environment and human health. That could impact on tens of millions of lives."

Source: Western Morning News

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