Grantee Research Project Results
The Development and Scale Up of an Enhanced Mass Transport Resin for Efficient and Cost Effective Heavy Metals Removal and Recovery
EPA Contract Number: 68D98139Title: The Development and Scale Up of an Enhanced Mass Transport Resin for Efficient and Cost Effective Heavy Metals Removal and Recovery
Investigators: Hamilton, Richard A.
Small Business: SolmeteX Inc.
EPA Contact: Richards, April
Phase: I
Project Period: September 1, 1998 through March 1, 1999
Project Amount: $67,916
RFA: Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) - Phase I (1998) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: SBIR - Water and Wastewater , Watersheds , Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)
Description:
In aqueous solutions, where metal contamination is of low concentration but still unacceptable for discharge, and flow rates are high, there is no technology that can be reasonably applied to remove the metals. The unavailability of technology or the excessive cost of existing technology has been problematic for low concentration of metals such as mercury, silver, chromium, cadmium, arsenic, and lead. The purpose of this SBIR project is to develop and scale up an enhanced mass transport resin for efficient and cost effective heavy metals removed and recovery. Under this project, the feasibility of making large polymer beads (approximately 800 microns) with bimodel pore distribution consisting of large "through pores" (1-5 microns) will be determined. These beads will allow mass transport enhancements that increase the speed of separation; the smaller, diffusive pores (100-500# angstroms) lining the throughpores will provide extremely high surface area. A "throughpore" allows flow to pass through the interior of the particle under high flow operating conditions to enhance mass transport within the particle. Flow through these pores will be convective, minimizing the effects of the boundary layer, thus significantly accelerating the kinetics of binding as compared to traditional bead-based technology. This project also will determine the scaling processes for making 40 micron enhanced mass transport beads and scaling to 800 micron beads with the same mass transport characteristics and low price for applications in wastewater and process water for the removal of metals. It may be possible to scale the process for making these beads to make large beads that take advantage of the enhanced mass transport, thereby reducing process time and cost for wastewater and metal removal applications.Supplemental Keywords:
small business, SBIR, wastewater, groundwater, remediation, engineering, chemistry, EPA., Ecosystem Protection/Environmental Exposure & Risk, Scientific Discipline, Waste, Water, Economic, Social, & Behavioral Science Research Program, Toxics, National Recommended Water Quality, Remediation, Fate & Transport, Mercury, Environmental Chemistry, 33/50, Engineering, Chemistry, & Physics, Wastewater, Regional/Scaling, Arsenic, Market mechanisms, Physics, heavy metals, chromium & chromium compounds, mercury & mercury compounds, metal removal, lead & lead compounds, Chromium, lead, cadmium, industrial wastewater, fine particles, cost effective, cadmium & cadmium compounds, contaminant removal, fate and transport, wastewater remediation, Silver, wastewater treatmentProgress 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.