Study of the environmental impact of existing bioengineering structures for treatment of clarified water of the tailing ponds by the case of treatment structures PJSC "Poltava ore mining and processing plant"

To determine the possible impact of bioengineering structures (BIS) on the environment, a field experiment was performed to specify the current hydrodynamic characteristics of BIS and test the waterproofing properties of the protective layer of the BIS bed of PJSC "Poltava Ore Mining and Processing Plant". The methods of remote sensing of the Earth were used, as well as mapping the distribution of the model solution, which simulates the pollution in the BIS area during treatment. It was established that the time of water treatment at BIS is about one day. Thus, the speed of treated water passage through BIS (filtration rate) is about 20 m/hour, which does not allow treating wastewater properly. Mapping the distribution of the model solution revealed significant changes in its local concentrations, so, the changes in the volume of source water entering the BIS significantly affect the spread of contaminants. It was established that the speed of wastewater passage by the BIS maps is much higher than the optimal speeds for phytoremediation facilities. That is, there is significant overloading of some parts of BIS surfaces and underloading of others.  Also, a significant hydraulic connection of BIS with groundwater was statistically significantly revealed; it was experimentally confirmed that the protective waterproofing screen was damaged, and there is a pollution of the surrounding groundwater in the process of BIS operation. Research results have shown that BIS is hydraulically bound to the surrounding groundwater and serves as a source of secondary pollution. Therefore, there is a need to develop a set of measures to improve the efficiency of the BIS. One of the promising areas of research is the use of aquatic vegetation and aquatic organisms not only for phytoremediation but also for phytoextraction and as a source of pure metals (alloying additives).