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SITE TECHNOLOGY CAPSULE: DYNAPHORE, INC., FORAGER SPONGE TECHNOLOGY
Citation:
Vaccaro, G. SITE TECHNOLOGY CAPSULE: DYNAPHORE, INC., FORAGER SPONGE TECHNOLOGY. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, EPA/540/R-94/522a (NTIS 95-213229), 1995.
Description:
The Forager Sponge is a volume reduction technology in which heavy metal contaminants from an aqueous medium are selectively concentrated into a smaller volume for facilitated disposal. The technology treats contaminated groundwater, surface waters, and process waters by absorbing dissolved ionic species onto a sponge matrix. The sponge matrix can be directly disposed, or regenerated with chemical solutions. The Sponge can remove toxic heavy metals from waters in the presence of high concentrations of innocuous, naturally occurring dissolved inorganic species.
The Forager Sponge technology was demonstrated under the SITE Program at the NL Industries, Inc. Superfund site in Pedricktown, NJ. The mobile pump and treat system treated groundwater contaminated with heavy metals. The demonstration focused on the system’s ability to remove lead, cadmium, chromium, and copper from the contaminated groundwater over a continuous 72-hr test. The results from the demonstration indicated that cadmium was reduced by 90%, copper reduced by 97%, lead reduced by 97%, and chromium reduced by 32%. The removal of heavy metals proceeded in the presence of significantly higher concentrations of innocuous cations such as calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium, and aluminum. The Forager Sponge technology was easy to operate and exhibited no operational problems over the course of the demonstration. The system is trailer-mounted, easily transportable, and can be operational within a day upon arrival at a site. The spent Sponge can be compacted into a small volume for easy disposal. The Forager Sponge technology was evaluated based on the seven criteria used for decision making as part of the Superfund Feasibility Study (FS) process.