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Title: Recovery of Mercury From Contaminated Liquid Wastes

Abstract

The Base Contract program emphasized the manufacture and testing of superior sorbents for mercury removal, testing of the sorption process at a DOE site, and determination of the regeneration conditions in the laboratory. During this project, ADA Technologies, Inc. demonstrated the following key elements of a successful regenerable mercury sorption process: (1) sorbents that have a high capacity for dissolved, ionic mercury; (2) removal of ionic mercury at greater than 99% efficiency; and (3) thermal regeneration of the spent sorbent. ADA's process is based on the highly efficient and selective sorption of mercury by noble metals. Contaminated liquid flows through two packed columns that contain microporous sorbent particles on which a noble metal has been finely dispersed. A third column is held in reserve. When the sorbent is loaded with mercury to the point of breakthrough at the outlet of the second column, the first column is taken off-line and the flow of contaminated liquid is switched to the second and third columns. The spent column is regenerated by heating. A small flow of purge gas carries the desorbed mercury to a capture unit where the liquid mercury is recovered. Laboratory-scale tests with mercuric chloride solutions demonstrated the sorbents' abilitymore » to remove mercury from contaminated wastewater. Isotherms on surrogate wastes from DOE's Y-12 Plant in Oak Ridge, Tennessee showed greater than 99.9% mercury removal. Laboratory- and pilot-scale tests on actual Y-12 Plant wastes were also successful. Mercury concentrations were reduced to less than 1 ppt from a starting concentration of 1,000 ppt. The treatment objective was 50 ppt. The sorption unit showed 10 ppt discharge after six months. Laboratory-scale tests demonstrated the feasibility of sorbent regeneration. Results show that sorption behavior is not affected after four cycles.« less

Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Federal Energy Technology Center Morgantown (FETC-MGN), Morgantown, WV (United States); Federal Energy Technology Center Pittsburgh (FETC-PGH), Pittsburgh, PA (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE Office of Fossil Energy (FE) (US)
OSTI Identifier:
2224
Report Number(s):
DE-RA21-97MC32195-15
TRN: US0101285
DOE Contract Number:  
AC21-97MC32195
Resource Type:
Technical Report
Resource Relation:
Other Information: PBD: 12 Jun 1998
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE WASTES, AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES; LIQUID WASTES; MERCURY; Y-12 PLANT; MATERIALS RECOVERY; ADSORBENTS; PERFORMANCE; REGENERATION; EXTRACTION COLUMNS; OPERATION; NONRADIOACTIVE WASTE MANAGEMENT

Citation Formats

. Recovery of Mercury From Contaminated Liquid Wastes. United States: N. p., 1998. Web. doi:10.2172/2224.
. Recovery of Mercury From Contaminated Liquid Wastes. United States. https://doi.org/10.2172/2224
. 1998. "Recovery of Mercury From Contaminated Liquid Wastes". United States. https://doi.org/10.2172/2224. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/2224.
@article{osti_2224,
title = {Recovery of Mercury From Contaminated Liquid Wastes},
author = {},
abstractNote = {The Base Contract program emphasized the manufacture and testing of superior sorbents for mercury removal, testing of the sorption process at a DOE site, and determination of the regeneration conditions in the laboratory. During this project, ADA Technologies, Inc. demonstrated the following key elements of a successful regenerable mercury sorption process: (1) sorbents that have a high capacity for dissolved, ionic mercury; (2) removal of ionic mercury at greater than 99% efficiency; and (3) thermal regeneration of the spent sorbent. ADA's process is based on the highly efficient and selective sorption of mercury by noble metals. Contaminated liquid flows through two packed columns that contain microporous sorbent particles on which a noble metal has been finely dispersed. A third column is held in reserve. When the sorbent is loaded with mercury to the point of breakthrough at the outlet of the second column, the first column is taken off-line and the flow of contaminated liquid is switched to the second and third columns. The spent column is regenerated by heating. A small flow of purge gas carries the desorbed mercury to a capture unit where the liquid mercury is recovered. Laboratory-scale tests with mercuric chloride solutions demonstrated the sorbents' ability to remove mercury from contaminated wastewater. Isotherms on surrogate wastes from DOE's Y-12 Plant in Oak Ridge, Tennessee showed greater than 99.9% mercury removal. Laboratory- and pilot-scale tests on actual Y-12 Plant wastes were also successful. Mercury concentrations were reduced to less than 1 ppt from a starting concentration of 1,000 ppt. The treatment objective was 50 ppt. The sorption unit showed 10 ppt discharge after six months. Laboratory-scale tests demonstrated the feasibility of sorbent regeneration. Results show that sorption behavior is not affected after four cycles.},
doi = {10.2172/2224},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/2224}, journal = {},
number = ,
volume = ,
place = {United States},
year = {Fri Jun 12 00:00:00 EDT 1998},
month = {Fri Jun 12 00:00:00 EDT 1998}
}