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Removal of Uranium in Drinking Water: Brimac Environmental Services, Inc. Brimac HA 216 Adsorptive Media
Citation:
Blumenstein, M., B. Bartley, AND J. Q. ADAMS. Removal of Uranium in Drinking Water: Brimac Environmental Services, Inc. Brimac HA 216 Adsorptive Media. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, EPA/600/R-10/099, 2010.
Impact/Purpose:
To inform the public.
Description:
The Brimac HA 216 Adsorptive Media was tested for uranium (U) removal from a drinking water source (well water) at Grappone Toyota located in Bow, New Hampshire. The HA 216 media is a hydroxyapatite-based material. A pilot unit, consisting of a TIGG Corporation Cansorb® C-5 steel drum with 50 lbs. (1.256 ft³) of media, was used for this verification test. The pilot unit was operated at a flow rate of approximately two gallons per minute (gpm), resulting in a hydraulic loading rate of 1.04 gpm/ft², and an empty bed contact time (EBCT) of 4 minutes and 46 seconds. The integrity test phase included observation of the operation of the pilot unit. The pilot test unit was simple and easy to operate, particularly since there were no pumps required for this installation and no need for automated controls or backwash systems. The source water contained a mean uranium concentration of 190 µg/L. The pilot unit produced treated water with uranium concentrations of <1 µg/L at the start of the test. The uranium concentration in the treated water began to increase after two days of operation and exceeded the EPA National Primary Drinking Water Regulation (NPDWR) maximum contaminant level (MCL) of 30 µg/L after 21,832 gallons (gal) of water had been treated, representing 2,324 bed volumes (BV). The uranium concentration in the treated water exceeded the stop-test concentration of 60 µg/L at 34,159 gal (3,636 BV). The test was stopped two days later at 40,941 gal after the uranium results had been received showing that 60 µg/L had been passed. While the treated water uranium concentration increased more quickly than anticipated, the mean concentration for the 15-day monitoring period was 29.7 µg/L, which is below the MCL. Based on the mean source and treated water uranium concentrations (171 µg/L and 12.6 µg/L respectively) for the first ten days of operation before the treated water exceeded 30 µg/L of uranium, the 22,700 grams (g) of media absorbed 13.1 g of uranium (5.7x10-4 g U/g media). For the entire test period, the media adsorbed approximately 24.8 g of uranium (0.001 g U/g media).
URLs/Downloads:
REMOVAL OF URANIUM IN DRINKING WATER: BRIMAC ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES, INC. BRIMAC HA 216 ADSORPTIVE MEDIAVERIFICATION STATEMENT