Study of the effects of the environmental factors on mining effluents phytoremediation process efficiency using cognitive map method (Case study: Sungun copper mine)

Due to environmental pollution caused by various contaminants through mining activities, over the years, many chemical and physical methods used to purge ecosystems which often associated with high costs. Hence, today the biological resources of the environment are used to clean up contaminated areas with a variety of pollutants. One of the most inexpensive methods for removing contaminants from wastewater, water and soil, is phytoremediation processes. Summary: Given that in the real world, environmental factors affect each other, to achieve real results, the interaction between these factors should be considered. In this study, the cognitive map method to evaluate the impact of the environment on phytoremediation efficiency factors with regard to relations between them have been used in a case study. The development of mining activities and non-compliance with environmental requirements, has caused the huge amounts of contaminants of mining industry such as wastewater of mine concentrator plants enter to the environment through water. On the other hand, in recent years, the use of biocompatible phytoremediation processes in purify the wastewater of mine concentrator plants have been significant results. Evaluate the efficiency of phytoremediation process and identify different effective environmental factors on it, not only reveal the wider dimension of the application of this new technology, but also help to the designers of this natural systems to implement it. Methodology and Approaches: In this study, the cognitive map to identify causal relationships between environmental factors affecting the efficiency of phytoremediation mineral wastewaters and how each factor affect the efficiency of phytoremediation is used. Also determine the most effective identified factors assuming enabled each of the factors identified in cognitive map and implementing hybrid learning algorithm will be obtained that represents the impact of environmental factors on the efficiency of inorganic wastewater phytoremediation process. Results and Conclusions: The results of the study wastewater phytoremediation Sungun copper mine concentrator plant shows that "the amount of heavy metals in the tailings dam," with the relative weight of 0/37, "the metal content of ore," the relative weight of 0/34 and "dissolved heavy metals in wastewater, "the relative weight of the criteria 0/33, have been the most important environmental factors and have great impact on the efficiency of phytoremediation process.