Grantee Research Project Results
High-Performance Extraction of Heavy Metals with Tethered Metal-Binding Ligands
EPA Contract Number: 68D98151Title: High-Performance Extraction of Heavy Metals with Tethered Metal-Binding Ligands
Investigators: Hammen, Richard F.
Small Business: ChelaTech Inc.
EPA Contact: Richards, April
Phase: I
Project Period: September 1, 1998 through March 1, 1999
Project Amount: $70,000
RFA: Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) - Phase I (1998) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Hazardous Waste/Remediation , SBIR - Waste , Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)
Description:
The removal of metals from contaminated water is critical to many manufacturing industries. Both internal requirements and external environmental regulations place an economic premium on producing high-purity water that is free of detectable metal ion contamination (zero discharge). Conventional ion exchange technologies used today can only achieve zero discharge with exponentially increasing costs, due to the limitations of the kinetics of diffusion of metals to the surface of ion exchange resins. To avoid boundary layer diffusion limitation, ChelaTech has developed a technology of covalently attaching a variety of tether molecules to porous silica gel. The tether length can be controlled and is made to be 15-400 Angstroms long. The tether is then covalently coupled to an appropriate ligand or metal-binding reagent. By "dangling" the reagent away from the solid surface, the reagent interacts with solute molecules pumped through the porous bed with unprecedented reaction and adsorption kinetics. This project will prepare High-Performance Extraction media with high-affinity metal binding agents that are selective for extracting mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chrome, and arsenate ions from contaminated water. The media will be tested for their efficacy and economics of performance.Supplemental Keywords:
small business, SBIR, remediation, heavy metals, wastewater, engineering, chemistry, EPA., Scientific Discipline, Waste, Water, Economic, Social, & Behavioral Science Research Program, Toxics, Hazardous, National Recommended Water Quality, Remediation, Engineering, Mercury, Chemistry, hexavalent chromium, 33/50, Engineering, Chemistry, & Physics, Wastewater, Market mechanisms, Physics, mercury & mercury compounds, heavy metals, ion exchange, metal ligand, metal removal, control technologies, cadmium, cost effective, cadmium & cadmium compounds, metal ion removal, metal recovery, wastewater remediation, extraction of metals, wastewater treatment, emission reductions, heavy metal contamination, waste water treatment, metal binding, carbon dioxideProgress and Final Reports:
The perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.