Grantee Research Project Results

2012 Progress Report: Sustainable Catalytic Treatment of Waste Ion Exchange Brines for Reuse During Oxyanion Treatment in Drinking Water

EPA Grant Number: R835174
Title: Sustainable Catalytic Treatment of Waste Ion Exchange Brines for Reuse During Oxyanion Treatment in Drinking Water
Investigators: Werth, Charles J , Strathmann, Timothy J.
Institution: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
EPA Project Officer: Packard, Benjamin H
Project Period: December 1, 2011 through November 30, 2014 (Extended to November 30, 2016)
Project Period Covered by this Report: December 1, 2011 through November 30,2012
Project Amount: $500,000
RFA: Research and Demonstration of Innovative Drinking Water Treatment Technologies in Small Systems (2011) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Drinking Water , Water

Objective:

The objectives of this work are to 1) identify palladium (Pd) catalyst formulations with sufficient activity to reduce different target oxyanions in brine solutions, 2) determine if catalyst activity can be maintained for extended periods of operations, and 3) assess the economic and environmental life cycle costs of hybrid ion exchange/catalyst treatment systems.

Progress Summary:

During the reporting period, significant progress was made in the areas of brine characterization and catalyst testing. Real brines from water treatment plants were delivered to UIUC and two of them were fully characterized. The characterization led to altering the composition of our synthetic brine for batch and column studies, as the real brines showed higher concentrations of nitrate and a lower concentration of sodium chloride than anticipated.

Several batch studies were performed to determine the optimal ratio of palladium to indium loading, and to optimize indium loading for a fixed amount of Pd. This optimization is important for ensuring the most efficient use of expensive precious metals, which has implications for future scale-up testing application. A column study was performed with a 2.5wt%Pd-0.25wt%In/AC catalyst, and it showed promising results for nitrate reduction using both a synthetic brine and the real brine from the Chino, CA plant. As expected, the catalyst lost activity over tens of days. We are now evaluating alternative regeneration strategies to regain full catalyst activity.

Preliminary analyses of environmental and economic costs of ion exchange (IX) with and without a catalytic brine treatment system were made using life cycle assessment (LCA) to determine the benefit of brine recycle.

Future Activities:

During the next reporting period, our primary efforts will focus on continued column testing, catalyst regeneration and life cycle assessment. A suite of regeneration solutions will be tested on the flow-throw column reactor with 0.5wt%Pd-0.05wt%In/AC catalyst. Additionally, we will build a larger flow-through column reactor, which will allow for more samples when deconstructed and provide enough material for triplicate regeneration experiments. Further refinement of the life cycle analysis will be aided by updated kinetic rate data collected as we continue column and batch testing of different catalysts. Pending the results of the column studies, additional brines will be characterized and run through the column. Pending the results of these experiments, we plan to begin design on the pilot reactor during the next year.

Journal Articles on this Report : 3 Displayed | Download in RIS Format

Publications Views
Other project views:	All 57 publications	15 publications in selected types	All 15 journal articles

Publications
Type	Citation	Project	Document Sources
Journal Article	Choe JK, Mehnert MH, Guest JS, Strathmann TJ, Werth CJ. Comparative assessment of the environmental sustainability of existing and emerging perchlorate treatment technologies for drinking water. Environmental Science & Technology 2013;47(9):4644-4652.	R835174 (2012) R835174 (2013) R835174 (2014) R835174 (2015) R835174 (Final)	Abstract from PubMed Full-text: ACS-Full Text HTML Exit Abstract: ACS-Abstract Exit Other: ACS-Full Text PDF Exit
Journal Article	Liu J, Choe JK, Sasnow Z, Werth CJ, Strathmann TJ. Application of a Re–Pd bimetallic catalyst for treatment of perchlorate in waste ion-exchange regenerant brine. Water Research 2013:47(1):91-101.	R835174 (2012) R835174 (2013) R835174 (2014) R835174 (2015) R835174 (Final)	Abstract from PubMed Full-text: ScienceDirect-Full Text HTML Exit Abstract: ScienceDirect-Abstract Exit Other: ScienceDirect-Full Text PDF Exit
Journal Article	Zhang R, Shuai D, Guy KA, Shapley JR, Strathmann TJ, Werth CJ. Elucidation of nitrate reduction mechanisms on a Pd-In bimetallic catalyst using isotope labeled nitrogen species. ChemCatChem 2013;5(1):313-321.	R835174 (2012) R835174 (2013) R835174 (2014) R835174 (2015) R835174 (Final)	Full-text: Wiley Online-Full Text HTML Exit Abstract: Wiley Online-Abstract Exit Other: Wiley Online-Full Text PDF Exit

Supplemental Keywords:

Nitrate, perchlorate, ion exchange, brine reuse, catalytic reduction, palladium, indium, rhenium, toxics, innovative technology, cost-benefit, integrated assessment

Relevant Websites:

Professor Strathmann’s research website, listing published journal articles:

http://strathmann.cee.illinois.edu/Publications/publications.html

Progress and Final Reports:

Original Abstract

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.