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Title: Removal of mercury from contaminated groundwater to part per trillion levels

Abstract

ADA has developed a process for removing mercury from contaminated groundwater and has demonstrated a pilot-scale version of this process at a DOE site. The technology will treat the mercury-contaminated groundwater, primary liquid wastes in DOE`s inventory and the mercury-contaminated secondary liquid wastes that will result from many of the processes and activities planned for treating the mercury-contaminated solids, soils, debris, and aqueous wastes in DOE`s inventory. This process is also applicable to cleanup of mercury contaminated sites not found in DOE. ADA`s process is based on the highly efficient and selective sorption of mercury by noble metals. Contaminated liquid flows through a packed bed that contains microporous sorbent particles on which a noble metal has been finely dispersed. When the sorbent is loaded with mercury to the point of breakthrough, the flow of contaminated liquid is switched to a fresh sorbent bed. The spent bed is regenerated by heating, first to drive off residual water and then to drive off the mercury. A small flow of purge gas carries the desorbed mercury to a condenser where the mercury is recovered. Current column tests at the Y-12 weapons plant are showing a removal of mercury from 800 ng/l to lessmore » than 1 ng/liter using two columns in series. In bench-scale tests using mercuric chloride from 0.5 mg/l to 50 mg/l Hg, ADA has demonstrated the key components that are needed for a practical, regenerable sorption process for removing and recovering dissolved mercury from liquid streams: (1) sorbents have been found that have a high capacity for elemental as well as dissolved, ionic mercury, (2) ionic mercury is removed at greater than 99% efficiency, and (3) the spent sorbent is thermally regenerable.« less

Authors:
;  [1]
  1. ADA Technologies, Inc., Englewood, CO (United States)
Publication Date:
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
OSTI Identifier:
679455
Report Number(s):
CONF-980632-
TRN: IM9940%%274
DOE Contract Number:  
AC21-97MC32195
Resource Type:
Conference
Resource Relation:
Conference: 91. annual meeting and exhibition of the Air and Waste Management Association, San Diego, CA (United States), 14-18 Jun 1998; Other Information: PBD: 1998; Related Information: Is Part Of Proceedings of the 91. annual meeting and exhibition. Bridging international boundaries: Clean production for environmental stewardship; PB: [5000] p.
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES; GROUND WATER; REMEDIAL ACTION; WATER POLLUTION CONTROL; MERCURY; ADSORBENTS; PERFORMANCE TESTING; ADSORPTION ISOTHERMS

Citation Formats

Stewart, R M, and Roberts, D L. Removal of mercury from contaminated groundwater to part per trillion levels. United States: N. p., 1998. Web.
Stewart, R M, & Roberts, D L. Removal of mercury from contaminated groundwater to part per trillion levels. United States.
Stewart, R M, and Roberts, D L. 1998. "Removal of mercury from contaminated groundwater to part per trillion levels". United States.
@article{osti_679455,
title = {Removal of mercury from contaminated groundwater to part per trillion levels},
author = {Stewart, R M and Roberts, D L},
abstractNote = {ADA has developed a process for removing mercury from contaminated groundwater and has demonstrated a pilot-scale version of this process at a DOE site. The technology will treat the mercury-contaminated groundwater, primary liquid wastes in DOE`s inventory and the mercury-contaminated secondary liquid wastes that will result from many of the processes and activities planned for treating the mercury-contaminated solids, soils, debris, and aqueous wastes in DOE`s inventory. This process is also applicable to cleanup of mercury contaminated sites not found in DOE. ADA`s process is based on the highly efficient and selective sorption of mercury by noble metals. Contaminated liquid flows through a packed bed that contains microporous sorbent particles on which a noble metal has been finely dispersed. When the sorbent is loaded with mercury to the point of breakthrough, the flow of contaminated liquid is switched to a fresh sorbent bed. The spent bed is regenerated by heating, first to drive off residual water and then to drive off the mercury. A small flow of purge gas carries the desorbed mercury to a condenser where the mercury is recovered. Current column tests at the Y-12 weapons plant are showing a removal of mercury from 800 ng/l to less than 1 ng/liter using two columns in series. In bench-scale tests using mercuric chloride from 0.5 mg/l to 50 mg/l Hg, ADA has demonstrated the key components that are needed for a practical, regenerable sorption process for removing and recovering dissolved mercury from liquid streams: (1) sorbents have been found that have a high capacity for elemental as well as dissolved, ionic mercury, (2) ionic mercury is removed at greater than 99% efficiency, and (3) the spent sorbent is thermally regenerable.},
doi = {},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/679455}, journal = {},
number = ,
volume = ,
place = {United States},
year = {Thu Dec 31 00:00:00 EST 1998},
month = {Thu Dec 31 00:00:00 EST 1998}
}

Conference:
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