The role of biotechnology in the treatment of geothermal residual sludges

Conference · Sun May 01 04:00:00 EDT 1988

OSTI ID:5712874

Premuzic, E T; Lin, M S

Power plants which use geothermal heat to generate electric power produce a residual sludge in large quantities. This material precipitates from supersaturated brines and contains toxic metals, some of which are present in concentrations exceeding the non hazardous waste disposal regulations. Disposal of this waste as hazardous waste is costly. Work in this laboratory has shown that a biotreatment of the geothermal waste in which toxic metal resistant acidophilic organisms are used can serve as a basis for a new biotechnology for detoxification of geothermal residual brine sludges. Phase one studies have shown that an economically and technically feasible biotechnology can be developed. The efficiency of this technology depends on a number of parameters such as the bioreactor design, residence time, and the number and concentration of toxic metals to be removed. Further, the process, while rendering a detoxified material, produces a liquid phase which is enriched in toxic metals. This aqueous phase can be reinjected into the wells, or processed for the recovery of toxic metals, some of which are commercially valuable, for example, chromium. A parallel study in this laboratory has shown that a combined chemical and biochemical process for the recovery of these metals may also be feasible. Data presented in this paper illustrate various aspects of the detoxification and recovery processes. 8 refs., 5 figs.

• Research Organization: Brookhaven National Lab., Upton, NY (USA)
• Sponsoring Organization: DOE/ER
• DOE Contract Number: AC02-76CH00016
• OSTI ID: 5712874
• Report Number(s): BNL-42361; CONF-890975--3; ON: DE89017609
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY
BIODEGRADATION
BRINES
CHEMICAL EFFLUENTS
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
DECOMPOSITION
DETOXIFICATION
ELEMENTS
ENERGY
ENERGY SOURCES
GEOTHERMAL ENERGY
Geothermal Legacy
MANAGEMENT
METALS
POWER PLANTS
PRECIPITATION
RECOVERY
RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES
SEPARATION PROCESSES
WASTE DISPOSAL
WASTE MANAGEMENT