1、中国矿业大学 12 届 本科生 毕业设计（论文） 第 139 页 翻译部分 英文原文 Development of a Decision Support System for Groundwater Pollution Control at Coal-mining Contaminated Sites Xiaodong Zhang Faculty of Engineering University of Regina Christine W. Chan Faculty of Engineering/Energy Informatics Laboratory University of Regi
2、na Gordon Huang Faculty of Engineering University of Regina Abstract: Groundwater contamination is one of the major environment concerns at coal-mining sites. Highly saline or highly acidic water from coal-mining can introduce serious pollution to groundwater and adversely affect its quality. This i
3、mpact may last a long time even after the mining activity has ceased. Identification of an appropriate remediation technique is critical for effective pollution control. However, due to complexity of considerations involved in the pollution, it is difficult for environmental managers to select optim
4、al techniques. This paper presents a robust decision support system named GCDSS that integrates the functional components of mine characterization, numerical modeling, risk assessment and remediation-technique selection. The results from a case study indicated this system can help improve efficienci
5、es of groundwater pollution control at coal-mining contaminated sites. Keywords: Decision support system； acid mine drainage (AMD)； groundwater； coal mine 1 Introduction Groundwater contamination is one of the major environmental concerns at coal mining sites. Acid mine drainage (AMD) is the primary
6、 problem associated 中国矿业大学 12 届 本科生 毕业设计（论文） 第 140 页 with pollution from coal mining. AMD is often highly acidic water rich in heavy metals, which can introduce serious pollution to groundwater and adversely affect its quality. A variety of AMD treatment technologies and groundwater remediation meth
7、ods were developed. Due to the complexities of these technologies, it is often difficult for environmental managers to make optimal decisions in treating specific sites. Decision support systems (DSS) can assist in solving this problem. Many DSSs have been proposed for managing coal mining operation
8、s and groundwater remediation. However, there is a lack of study that combines the functions of mine characterization, numerical modeling, risk assessment and remediation technique selection within a DSS. The objective of this study is to address this gap in previous researches and develop an integr
9、ated decision support system (GCDSS) that supports all these functions for groundwater pollution control at coal-mining contaminated sites. 2 Background: AMD and its treatment AMD from coal mining is a difficult and costly problem. It can seriously affect groundwater quality and cause metals to leac
10、h from mine wastes. AMD results from the oxidation of metal sulfides, particularly pyrite (FeS2). Under the acidic conditions, oxidation of pyrite occurs in the following reaction 1: This reaction demonstrates the polluting capability of the oxidation of pyrite that every mole of pyrite can be conve
11、rted to 16 moles of hydrogen and 2 moles of sulfate. Much acid is generated through this reaction. There are two methods for treating AMD: active treatment and passive treatment. Active treatment involves neutralizing acid-polluted water with alkaline chemicals which include limestone, hydrated lime
12、, caustic soda, soda ash, and ammonia 2. Active treatment is expensive and requires much time and manpower to maintain. Passive treatment employs naturally occurring chemical and biological reactions and requires little or no maintenance. Passive methods include anoxic drains, limestone rock channel
13、s, alkaline recharge of groundwater, and diversion of drainage through man-made wetlands or other settling structures. 3 Development of Decision Support System 3.1 Knowledge Acquisition Knowledge acquisition is a bottleneck in DSS development and involves the processes of knowledge elicitation, anal
14、ysis and representation. It is crucial 中国矿业大学 12 届 本科生 毕业设计（论文） 第 141 页 because output of the system is only as good as the input. The main sources of knowledge in this study are the domain experts, the statistical data about coal mining, and documents. 3.2 GCDSS GCDSS consists of the modules for mi
15、ne characterization, numerical modeling, risk assessment, and remediation technique selection. It also consists of a graphical user interface which allows the user to input and query the site related data, and shows the recommendations and suggestions for the user. Details on the numerical modeling,
16、 risk assessment, and remediation technique selection modules are discussed as follows. The architecture of GCDSS is shown in Figure 1. Fig.1 Architecture of GCDSS 3.2.1 Mine Characterization Module Mine characterization is crucial for the following numerical modeling, risk assessment, and the selection of remediation technologies in GCDSS. This
