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Acadlore takes over the publication of IJEI from 2025 Vol. 8, No. 5. The preceding volumes were published under a CC BY 4.0 license by the previous owner, and displayed here as agreed between Acadlore and the previous owner. ✯ : This issue/volume is not published by Acadlore.

Open Access
Research article

Efficiency of Bioreactors in the Removal of Heavy Metals in Acidic Metallic Mining-Influenced Water in Ponce Enríquez, Ecuador

paola almeida-guerra1*,
paulo escandón-panchana2,3,
maribel aguilar-aguilar2,4,
Mark T. Hernández5,
juan carlos pindo4,
fernando morante-carballo1,2,6
1
Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Matemáticas (FCNM), ESPOL Polytechnic University, Guayaquil 090902, Ecuador
2
Centro de Investigación y Proyectos Aplicados a las Ciencias de la Tierra (CIPAT), ESPOL Polytechnic University, Guayaquil 090902, Ecuador
3
Escuela de Ciencias Ambientales, Universidad Espíritu Santo, Samborondón 0901952, Ecuador
4
Facultad de Ingeniería en Ciencias de la Tierra (FICT), ESPOL Polytechnic University, Guayaquil 090902, Ecuador
5
Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder, CO 80309 Boulder, United States
6
Geo-Recursos y Aplicaciones (GIGA), ESPOL Polytechnic University, Guayaquil 090902, Ecuador
International Journal of Environmental Impacts
|
Volume 8, Issue 3, 2025
|
Pages 445-456
Received: 12-30-2024,
Revised: 03-03-2025,
Accepted: 03-23-2025,
Available online: 06-29-2025
View Full Article|Download PDF

Abstract:

The mining effluent, acid mine drainage (AMD), is a major global environmental concern due to its high heavy metal content and highly acidic pH, which contaminates water and compromises the well-being of ecosystems and human health. Mining activity in southern Ecuador is characterised by artisanal and small-scale mining that exploits gold, silver, and copper, registering environmental problems associated mainly with river pollution. The objective of this study was to assess river water quality at 28 points in the Camilo Ponce Enríquez canton and subsequently evaluate the efficiency of various AMD bioremediation techniques with different components, including two different types of bacteria and sugarcane bagasse, by applying statistical methods and considering regulatory criteria. The proposed methodological approach consists of i) physicochemical characterisation of AMD, ii) implementation of pilot bioreactors, and iii) statistical study of bioreactor efficiency. The results show significant water contamination in rivers by AMD, resulting in heavy metal content of at least 0.1 ppb and greater than 1000 ppb in areas close to mining activity, exceeding the Ecuadorian maximum permissible limits. Statistical analysis of the bioreactor performance indicates that bioreactors containing bagasse and sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) demonstrated the most efficient techniques for the removal of heavy metals, reaching an average removal range of 85.35% and 89.64%, respectively, for metals such as Al, Cd, As, Cu, Fe, and Ni. This study provides a solid basis for using agricultural waste, such as sugarcane bagasse combined with SRB, to remove heavy metals in situ on a large scale to mitigate the environmental impacts of mining activity.

Keywords: Heavy metals, Artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM), Mining wastewater treatment, Sulfate reducing bacteria, Sugarcane bagass, Bioremediation

1. Introduction

2. Materials and Methods

3. Results

4. Interpretation of Results and Discussion

5. Conclusions

Contamination of water bodies by directly discharging AMD from artisanal mining activities in southern Ecuador is a national and cross-border environmental problem that threatens ecosystems and human health. The results of this study show that the investigated bioremediation techniques present significant variability in their efficiency depending on the type of components used. The PERMANOVA statistical analysis identified that the bioreactors that combine sugarcane bagasse and SRB (R1 and R2) present a greater efficiency in the removal of contaminants, reaching an average removal range of 85.35% and 89.64%, respectively, which is decisive in the effectiveness of the process.

The spatial distribution of pollutants in the water bodies shows that the areas with the highest contamination levels coincide with points close to the mining activity. This research highlights some limitations, such as the type of evaluation of bioreactor efficiency (under controlled laboratory conditions) that could influence the actual in situ behavior and the need to expand to more water sampling stations in rivers for greater precision of the interpolation map.

Future lines of research may include validation in situ of the bioremediation techniques on a large scale, considering specific environmental variables, such as changes in AMD volume, temperature, and pH; as well as the exploration of alternative bacterial strains. It is also recommended that the scope of the spatial analysis of contaminants be expanded with a higher sampling density integrated into predictive models that allow the evaluation of future contamination scenarios in the investigated area. Finally, considering land use and cover, the need for future studies on the impact of heavy metal contamination on shrimp farms, one of the main economic activities in the country.

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the research project "Registration of geological sites of interest in Ecuador for sustainable development strategies”, Code CIPAT-004-2024 of ESPOL Polytechnic University. To the Project “Environmental characterisation and remediation of mining effluents through implementation of a sustainable pilot plant based on the use of industrial waste. Case study: Ponce Enríquez” with code T4-DI-2024 del SENESCYT. We also thank professor-researcher Eng. Paúl Carrión-Mero, Ph.D., for his help and support in the development of this article. Finally, to the professors-researchers Eng. Luis Domínguez, Ph.D., and Eng. Mijail Arias, Ph.D. for their help in collecting field data.

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Nomenclature

pH

Hydrogen potentia

DO

Dissolved oxygen

ppb

Parts per billion

Appendix

Table S1

Station

Latitude

Longitude

Al

As

Ba

Cd

Co

Cr

Cu

Fe

Mn

Ni

Pb

Se

Zn

E1

9661467

637364

116.2

25.8

9.7

0.2

5.5

0.3

19.3

414.2

408.6

5.6

0.8

0.8

14.7

E2

9659855

636446

42.3

1.4

7.3

DL

0.1

DL

DL

105.0

19.5

DL

0.1

DL

2.5

E3

9661351

637396

145.9

25.7

7.6

0.1

4.3

0.4

22.4

468.8

434.9

DL

1.2

0.5

14.9

E4

9659509

639639

86.1

8.8

5.3

0.0

0.5

0.8

DL

157.0

16.1

DL

0.1

0.6

17.7

E5

9659933

638450

178.8

27.8

7.0

0.1

4.8

0.7

51.3

492.8

348.7

4.5

1.2

DL

10.3

E6

9658876

637783

40.6

1.3

7.1

DL

0.1

0.3

DL

67.3

8.2

DL

0.0

DL

6.2

E7

9657443

641420

102.5

35.5

4.8

0.1

6.0

0.3

118.7

709.8

328.1

6.4

1.1

0.5

7.3

E8

9657536

642336

109.7

55.1

16.3

0.3

28.0

0.8

766.2

964.3

1294.2

37.0

0.2

3.0

22.3

E9

9657520

642323

127.1

37.9

3.8

DL

0.8

0.4

24.8

314.3

61.1

DL

1.0

0.4

1.9

E10

9657825

641881

53.7

92.6

2.2

0.1

1.2

0.5

DL

297.4

40.8

DL

0.1

0.6

5.1

E11

9657095

643604

389.1

164.7

6.4

0.1

4.9

1.6

89.1

2368.5

237.8

6.0

8.6

0.8

18.1

E12

9656824

643679

82.1

2.6

4.6

DL

0.1

0.5

DL

117.5

4.7

DL

0.1

DL

2.7

E13

9656334

640959

138.1

1.0

6.5

DL

0.1

0.3

DL

203.8

3.3

DL

0.1

DL

2.9

E14

9656992

641559

256.5

0.6

10.6

DL

0.2

0.9

DL

244.5

9.6

DL

0.1

0.4

2.7

E15

9657610

644336

6831.2

736.3

16.9

1.5

30.5

16.6

177.6

28318.5

566.8

27.8

65.9

0.6

188.6

E16

9656491

645839

55.1

3.7

5.3

DL

0.0

0.3

DL

85.5

2.6

DL

0.1

DL

11.2

E17

9661190

639389

136.1

12.5

15.5

0.6

29.7

0.6

366.5

256.2

820.8

26.5

0.2

DL

29.5

E18

9661956

640140

90.9

4.9

5.8

0.0

1.4

0.5

DL

366.7

210.5

DL

0.1

0.9

2.4

E19

9663306

639401

58.2

5.6

7.2

DL

0.1

DL

DL

182.8

5.6

DL

0.1

0.5

7.4

E20

9661019

643188

1069.4

5.5

16.6

1.5

73.0

0.3

254.9

494.3

1215.9

81.5

0.3

0.9

180.3

E21

9661429

640272

226.1

15.1

15.4

0.5

35.9

0.7

648.9

360.4

761.1

32.7

0.2

1.0

15.1

E22

9661341

640801

245.7

7.0

13.5

0.6

41.2

0.6

833.1

383.3

801.5

37.6

0.1

1.5

42.2

E23

9662358

640840

132.7

8.0

6.1

0.1

2.9

DL

3.3

246.1

221.4

DL

0.1

1.1

8.0

E24

9664299

640828

86.4

8.7

6.7

0.0

0.2

0.2

DL

230.4

9.4

DL

0.1

0.7

32.7

E25

9664678

641695

264.8

5.3

5.6

DL

0.3

0.7

3.1

302.3

11.3

DL

0.1

DL

4.9

E26

9661202

638995

41.2

8.2

14.3

0.3

11.8

0.7

28.4

162.0

396.9

10.2

0.0

1.1

15.9

E27

9658353

641384

92.4

30.4

4.0

0.0

0.7

4.6

DL

240.9

71.3

6.3

0.5

DL

3.2

E28

9658547

641382

49.2

2.7

2.3

DL

2.3

1.8

DL

91.1

6.6

DL

0.1

DL

2.9

Cite this:
APA Style
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BibTex Style
MLA Style
Chicago Style
GB-T-7714-2015
Almeida-guerra, P., Escandón-panchana, P., Aguilar-aguilar, M., Hernández, M. T., Pindo, J. C., & Morante-carballo, F. (2025). Efficiency of Bioreactors in the Removal of Heavy Metals in Acidic Metallic Mining-Influenced Water in Ponce Enríquez, Ecuador. Int. J. Environ. Impacts., 8(3), 445-456. https://doi.org/10.18280/ijei.080303
P. Almeida-guerra, P. Escandón-panchana, M. Aguilar-aguilar, M. T. Hernández, J. C. Pindo, and F. Morante-carballo, "Efficiency of Bioreactors in the Removal of Heavy Metals in Acidic Metallic Mining-Influenced Water in Ponce Enríquez, Ecuador," Int. J. Environ. Impacts., vol. 8, no. 3, pp. 445-456, 2025. https://doi.org/10.18280/ijei.080303
@research-article{Almeida-guerra2025EfficiencyOB,
title={Efficiency of Bioreactors in the Removal of Heavy Metals in Acidic Metallic Mining-Influenced Water in Ponce Enríquez, Ecuador},
author={Paola Almeida-Guerra and Paulo EscandóN-Panchana and Maribel Aguilar-Aguilar and Mark T. HernáNdez and Juan Carlos Pindo and Fernando Morante-Carballo},
journal={International Journal of Environmental Impacts},
year={2025},
page={445-456},
doi={https://doi.org/10.18280/ijei.080303}
}
Paola Almeida-Guerra, et al. "Efficiency of Bioreactors in the Removal of Heavy Metals in Acidic Metallic Mining-Influenced Water in Ponce Enríquez, Ecuador." International Journal of Environmental Impacts, v 8, pp 445-456. doi: https://doi.org/10.18280/ijei.080303
Paola Almeida-Guerra, Paulo EscandóN-Panchana, Maribel Aguilar-Aguilar, Mark T. HernáNdez, Juan Carlos Pindo and Fernando Morante-Carballo. "Efficiency of Bioreactors in the Removal of Heavy Metals in Acidic Metallic Mining-Influenced Water in Ponce Enríquez, Ecuador." International Journal of Environmental Impacts, 8, (2025): 445-456. doi: https://doi.org/10.18280/ijei.080303
Almeida-guerra P.， Escandón-panchana P.， Aguilar-aguilar M.， et al. Efficiency of Bioreactors in the Removal of Heavy Metals in Acidic Metallic Mining-Influenced Water in Ponce Enríquez, Ecuador[J]. International Journal of Environmental Impacts， 2025， 8(3)： 445-456. https://doi.org/10.18280/ijei.080303