Coal mine wastes: Effective mitigation of coal waste slurry and acid mine drainage through bioflocculation using mixotrophic bacteria as bioflocculants

Acid mine drainage (AMD) and coal waste slurry, byproducts of global mining and coal processing activities, represent significant environmental pollution concerns due to their acidic nature and high total suspended solids (TSS) content. The exploration of microbial treatment methods, specifically the utilization of microorganisms and their metabolic byproducts as bioflocculants, is underway to mitigate the adverse effects of these byproducts. This investigation assessed the effectiveness of 54 mixotrophic bacterial strains in treating coal waste slurry and AMD from coal mines located in Kalimantan, Indonesia. The bacterium Citrobacter freundii (strain SKC-4), cultured in SKC1 medium (comprising 225 mL of seawater from the Java Sea and 15 g/L molasses), demonstrated superior performance, reducing the TSS value from 4998.20 ppm to 16 ppm within an hour. Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) analysis revealed an increase in the intensity of the CO and CN groups from protein amides and CH2 from carbohydrates, suggesting an interaction between bacteria and clay minerals in the coal waste slurry. The bacteria also played a crucial role in adjusting the pH of AMD, elevating it from 3.82 to 6.07 after one hour of conditioning with a bacterial culture to AMD ratio of 1:9. The interaction between bacteria and their metabolic products was further substantiated by scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) analysis, which detected the presence of an extracellular polymeric substance (EPS). To our knowledge, this study represents the first exploration of the potential of mixotrophic bacteria as bioflocculants in the biotreatment of coal waste slurry and AMD from coal mining operations.