Demonstrates improved plant growth using coal mine wastewater and microalgal biomass, suggesting effective reclamation methods.
Treatment of coal mine wastewater (CMW) and reclamation of depleted coal mines are serious environmental problems worldwide. Phytoremediation is a promising solution that is set back by high costs of planting material. To mitigate these issues, the feasibility of utilization CMW rich in Fe, Mn, and Zn for irrigation was tested with Scots pine ( Pinus sylvestris L.) and brome ( Bromus inermis Leyss) plants. Compatibility of the CMW application with the pesticides thiametoxam, propamocarb, and phosethyl was studied. The CMW possessed no acute toxicity the plants ( n = 10 for pine, n = 30 for brome; p = 0.05). Fe, Mn, or Zn content of the brome plant biomass did not increase. Embedding brome seeds into a chitosan cell carrier with biomass of microalga Pseudococcomyxa simplex (Mainx) Fott grown in the CMW increased their germination rate by 30% by the third day of observation ( n = 90, p = 0.05). Combination of the pesticide treatment, CMW irrigation, and the microalgal biomass application stimulated growth of pine seedlings increasing their shoot length by 7%–25% ( n = 10, p = 0.05). The results obtained support the possibility of the studied CMW valorization via growing of plants for coal mine reclamation. The CMW can be consumed for irrigation of the plants and/or for growing of the microalgal biomass used for seed treatment and soil amendment.
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Solovchenko et al. (2026) studied this question.
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