Acid mine drainage treatment using by-products from quicklime manufacturing as neutralization chemicals

•By-products from quicklime manufacturing were investigated for AMD treatment.•All tested by-products removed over 99% of Al, As, Cd, Co, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Zn from AMD.•All tested by-products removed approximately 60% of sulphate from AMD.•The neutralization capacity of the by-products varied.•Results indicate that two of the by-products could be used for AMD treatment. The aim of this research was to investigate whether by-products from quicklime manufacturing could be used instead of commercial quicklime (CaO) or hydrated lime (Ca(OH)2), which are traditionally used as neutralization chemicals in acid mine drainage treatment. Four by-products were studied and the results were compared with quicklime and hydrated lime. The studied by-products were partly burnt lime stored outdoors, partly burnt lime stored in a silo, kiln dust and a mixture of partly burnt lime stored outdoors and dolomite. Present application options for these by-products are limited and they are largely considered waste. Chemical precipitation experiments were performed with the jar test. All the studied by-products removed over 99% of Al, As, Cd, Co, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Zn and approximately 60% of sulphate from acid mine drainage. However, the neutralization capacity of the by-products and thus the amount of by-product needed as well as the amount of sludge produced varied. The results indicated that two out of the four studied by-products could be used as an alternative to quicklime or hydrated lime for acid mine drainage treatment.