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Title: Extraction of Mercury Utilizing 3D Printed Media - Mercury Extraction Coalescer (MEC) (Revision 1)

Technical Report ·
DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/1570347· OSTI ID:1570347
 [1];  [1];  [1];  [2]
  1. Savannah River Site (SRS), Aiken, SC (United States). Savannah River National Lab. (SRNL)
  2. Western Carolina Univ., Cullowhee, NC (United States)

The presence of mercury in environmental or industrial settings presents a number of issues from bio-accumulation to production of toxic by-products. The primary objective of this project was the development of a 3D printed component designed to act as a coalescing filter for the removal or segregation of elemental mercury from aqueous streams. The use of 3D printing allows for the design and integration of surface microstructures and internal geometries that could be difficult if not impossible to achieve through traditional manufacturing techniques. The initial phase of testing focused on the integration of 3D printed components into both environmental remediation testing (university subcontracted testing) and simulations of high-level nuclear waste processing (SRNL). Structures ranged from simple torturous paths that provided regions where the elemental mercury could settle out of the recirculation process to micro-structured frits that have increased surface area for aid in droplet coalescence and surface adsorption.

Research Organization:
Savannah River Site (SRS), Aiken, SC (United States). Savannah River National Lab. (SRNL)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Environmental Management (EM); USDOE Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) Program
DOE Contract Number:
AC09-08SR22470
OSTI ID:
1570347
Report Number(s):
SRNL-STI-12019-00603-Rev.1; TRN: US2100499
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English