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SEPARATIONS RESEARCH AT THE UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY - TOWARDS RECOVERY OF VOCS AND METALS USING MEMBRANES AND ADSORPTION PROCESSES
Citation:
Harten*, T M., L M. Vane*, AND D C. Szlag*. SEPARATIONS RESEARCH AT THE UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY - TOWARDS RECOVERY OF VOCS AND METALS USING MEMBRANES AND ADSORPTION PROCESSES. Chapter 17, Anastas, Heine & Williamson (ed.), ACS Symposium Series 766. American Chemical Society, Washington, DC, , 222-235, (2000).
Description:
The USEPA's National Risk Management Research Laboratory is investigating new separations materials and processes for removal and recovery of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and toxic metals from wastestreams and industrial process streams. Research applying membrane-based pervaporation to recovery of VOCs from surfactant-containing solutions has yielded results indicating that existing models for predicting required membrane surface area underestimate VOC flux across the membrane. Other research evaluated the new application of a modified commercial vibratory membrane for pervaporative removal of VOC. A software program is also being developed in NRMRL to predict pervaporation performance of commercial and research membranes for a variety of VOCs and user-selected conditions. In metals recovery research, NRMRL has targeted the metals copper, lead, nickel, and recently mercury. Development of novel ion exchange and adsorbents for these metals and utilization of newer processes such as electrochemical ion exchange and adsorption are being investigated for some of them. Industrial streams of interest are those from metal finishing and electronics for copper, nickel and lead and from boilers, incinerators, and medical facilities for mercury.