Grantee Research Project Results
Process for Heavy Metal Removal from Industrial Wastewater
EPA Contract Number: 68D40076Title: Process for Heavy Metal Removal from Industrial Wastewater
Investigators: Lin, ZhenWu
Small Business: LSR Technologies Inc.
EPA Contact: Richards, April
Phase: II
Project Period: September 1, 1994 through June 1, 1996
Project Amount: $165,000
RFA: Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) - Phase II (1994) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)
Description:
Protection of groundwater and marine waters is a complex issue and a vital public concern. Once contaminated, it can be technically difficult and enormously expensive to clean up. One way to protect these waters from contamination is through the control of industrial discharges. This project involves a new liquid membrane process for removing the heavy metals from industrial wastewater streams. The specific contaminant addressed in this work is copper removal, which is a serious concern because of its toxicity to aquatic life. The proposed liquid membrane process has several advantages over other methods such as solvent extraction, conventional supported liquid membrane and emulsion liquid membrane processes. some of these advantages include; high permeability, membrane stability, combining extraction and stripping steps in the same unit, and the potential to produce high contaminant concentrations in the stripping solution.In the Phase I program, a lab-scale testing system was developed to demonstrate the technical feasibility of the proposed liquid membrane system using an aqueous copper solution. A total of 26 tests were completed with copper concentrations in the feed stream ranging from 100 to 600 mg/L. The liquid membrane system achieved up to 99.99% copper removal from the feed stream, lowering its copper concentration in one case from 439 mg/L to 0.059 mg/l. Membrane stability and other technical objectives were also demonstrated. With some optimization, better results can be expected. With its demonstrated ability for heavy metal removal and with further development, the proposed liquid membrane process should find acceptance in the metal processing, metal finishing and metal plating industries, especially the small shops for which its economical size would be attractive.
Supplemental Keywords:
Liquid Membrane, Facilitated Transport., RFA, Scientific Discipline, Toxics, Water, Waste, National Recommended Water Quality, Wastewater, Environmental Chemistry, Civil/Environmental Engineering, Hazardous Waste, Civil Engineering, Environmental Monitoring, Engineering, Chemistry, & Physics, Hazardous, Environmental Engineering, industrial wastewater, liquid membrane process, copper, metals removal, heavy metals, membrane technology, copper removalProgress 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.