Abstract in english This review had as aim the bibliography research for the use of aluminosilicates to remove heavy metals from wastewaters. Advanced studies based on parameters that have influence for removal of heavy metals as pH, metal concentration, effect of ligants and removal capacity of zeolites and clays, were reported. These studies demonstrate that aluminosilicates can be successfully used for the removal of heavy metals under the optimized conditions.

The heavy metals releases to environment are dangerous because of their high toxicity, not biodegradability and accumulation in living organism. The bio sorption has been showed as an economical, eco friendly and high performance process to remove heavy metals. (Author)

A process is provided for removing heavy metal compounds from heavy crude oil by mixing the heavy crude oil with tar sand; preheating the mixture to a temperature of about 650.degree. F.; heating said mixture to up to 800.degree. F.; and separating tar sand from the light oils formed during said heating. The heavy metals removed from the heavy oils can be recovered from the spent sand for other uses.

In energy production, heavy metals pose significant contamination hazards. For example, the petroleum industry generates wastes that are often high in heavy metal concentrations. Heavy metals are very toxic and extremely deleterious to humans, plants, and animals. Application of fish scale to remove heavy metals is a very recent innovation. It is an environmentally appealing and economically attractive alternative to current heavy metal adsorbing materials. Previously, the adsorption phenomenon on this exotic waste material was explained by only physical-chemical reactions. Biological effects on adsorption of heavy metals such as lead, arsenic, and chromium were studied using Atlantic Cod scale. The difference in results between nonsterilized and sterilized experiments shows the microbial contribution to heavy metal removal. Results show a wide range of microbial contribution in removing chromium cations. For lead and arsenic cations, the effect is less. Measurement of pH gives some indication of the microbial role in the biosorption process and of the presence of possible microbial species. (author)

The CPFM technology is designed to remove trace to moderate levels of nontritium radionuclides and heavy metal pollutants from water. he technology uses a proprietary compound that consists of inorganic, oxide-based granules. his mixed is designed to remove heavy metals and radio...

Jun 5, 2012 ... Source: Water research. ... Initial metal ion concentration and treatment alkalinity were found to be major parameters ... BTJF could be an inexpensive and efficient sorbent for removing heavy metals from stormwater runoff.

Some key factors on the heavy metals removal efficiencies were studied when soil washing technology was used in the remediation of soils contaminated by multiple heavy metals. The results show that the dissolubilities of Cu and Zn are promoted by humic acids, but Pb and Cd are inhibited by humic acids; heavy metals in the clay are more difficult to be extracted than silt; the strong acidic soils can cause the protonation of EDTA and weaken its extracting ability; EDTA is effective for extracting Pb and Cd, while oxalate (OX) is effective for extracting Cu and Zn; and biosurfactant can be used as additive to improve the removal of some particular heavy metals.

Two pulp and paper industrial wastes, lime mud (LM) and recovery boiler ash (RB), have low moisture contents, low heavy metal contaminations and contain various carbonate compounds which contribute to a high pH. Metal finishing wastewater (MF-WW) has a low pH, high levels of TDS and high contaminations from Cr, Cu, Pb and Zn. The heavy metals from MF-WW were removed by sorption and precipitation mechanisms. LM gave better results in removing heavy metals from MF-WW than RB. At a reaction time of 45min, the maximum removal efficiencies for Cr (93%) and Cu (99%) were obtained at 110gL(-1) of LM, but at 80gL(-1) for Pb (96%) and Zn (99%). Treatment with LM gives a higher sludge volume than with RB. However, the leachability of heavy metals from LM is lower. Leachability of heavy metals in the sediment for all selected treatment conditions is within government standards. PMID:19501952

The present invention provides rhamnogalacturonan-II (RG-II) and relates to its ability to complex specific multivalent heavy metal cations. In the presence of boric acid, RG-II monomers form dimers that are cross-linked by a borate ester. The yield of such borate ester cross-linked dimers of RG-II is enhanced in the presence of specific heavy metal cations. The present invention further relates to the utility of RG-II in assays for the detection of specific heavy metal contamination; as a reagent useful in the removal of specific heavy metal cations contaminating foods and liquids, for example, fish, wines, etc.; as a pharmaceutical composition useful as an antidote in specific heavy metal cation poisoning; as a treatment for the detoxification of specific heavy metal cations from blood and/or tissues; and in a method of remediation of waters and soils contaminated with specific heavy metal cations. 15 figs.

A heavy metal poisoned, spent FCC catalyst is treated by chemically impregnating the poisoned catalyst with a new catalytic metal or metal salt to provide an attrition resistant catalyst or sorbent for a different catalytic or absorption processes, such as catalysts for Fischer-Tropsh Synthesis, and sorbents for removal of sulfur gasses from fuel gases and flue-gases. The heavy metal contaminated FCC catalyst is directly used as a support for preparing catalysts having new catalytic properties and sorbents having new sorbent properties, without removing or "passivating" the heavy metals on the spent FCC catalyst as an intermediate step.

Microorganisms play a significant role in bioremediation of heavy metal contaminated soil and wastewater. In this study, heavy metal resistant fungi and bacteria were isolated from the soil samples of an electroplating industry, and the bioaccumulations of Cr(VI) and Ni(II) by these isolates were characterized to evaluate their applicability for heavy metal removal from industrial wastewaters. The optimum pH and temperature conditions for both the growth and heavy metal removal were determined for each isolate. The optimal pH for fungal isolates was lower (5-5.2) than that for bacterial isolates (7). The observed effect(s) of pH was attributable mainly to organism-specific physiology because in all the tested cases the cellular growth positively correlated with heavy metal removal. Batch a...

The contamination of agricultural land and groundwater by heavy metals is essentially linked to human activities. A major problem with heavy metals is that they cannot be biodegraded and therefore reside in the environment for long periods of time if they are not removed. Thus, depending of the kind...

The Forager¿ Sponge is an open-celled cellulose sponge incorporating an amine-containing chelating polymer that selectively absorbs dissolved heavy metals from aqueous waste streams. The Developer states that the technology can be utilized to remove and concentrate heavy metals f...

The research program was initiated with the objective of evaluating a new process, the sulfide precipitation of heavy metals from industrial wastewaters. The process was expected to effect a more complete removal of heavy metals than conventional lime processing because of the mu...

In this study fixed-bed sorption filters are filled with an iron based sorbent (ferrosorp plus, FP) and used to remove a range of heavy metals (i.e. As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, and Zn) from polluted water. It is found that FP is very effective at simultaneous removal of the heavy metals, and the magnitude of heavy metal removal in a decreasing order is Cd, Ni, Cr, Zn, Cu and As. Furthermore, the effect of humic acid (HA) and light on the heavy metal removal is also tested. The data show that both the presence of 100 mg/L HA and the absence of light suppress the removal, with the suppression due to HA being more significant. A mathematical model (i.e. Thomas model) is employed to study the data further and to predict the breakthrough adsorption capacities. Accordingly, capacities of 10.57, 21.85, 15.96, 12.86, 17.54, and 11.07 ?mol/g are found for As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni and Zn, respectively, at an average inflow pH of 6.8 and heavy metal concentration of ?2.8 ?M. It is concluded that FP has high affinity to heavy metals and it can be used (e.g. as a filter medium) to treat waters containing a wide range of heavy metals, e.g. stormwater, industrial wastewater.

Water Purification System May Result from Space Research at NASA Lewis ... on screens which can be drawn through ponds and lakes needing cleaning. ... With the non-destructive process, the heavy metals are removed from the ion ...

assembly removed from the test section. ... aluminum oxide insulators is sputtered metal that is normally found after .... components via ion and charge- exchange neutral bombardment. ... Other heavy masses with mass-to-charge ratios 6, ...

Based on a comprehensive wastewater characterization program and a treatability study, the soluble-sulfide precipitation process was selected for heavy metals removal from electroplating wastewater at the Tobyhanna Army Depot. This process is advantageous in terms of metals-removal efficiency, solids and liquid separation, sludge-thickening capability and dewaterability, and sludge stability for disposal by landfill. 4 references, 1 figure, 6 tables.

This laboratory-scale study investigated initially the potential of heavy metal removal from a metal-finishing wastewater using fly and bottom ash from a power plant as coagulants. It was found that the maximum heavy metal content in the ash?sludge mix was obtained at a fly ash-to-bottom ash ratio of 1.5:1 and a stirring time of 3?h, which resulted in heavy metal removal (i.e., Cr, Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd, and Pb) in excess of 99%, with effluent concentrations below the corresponding regulatory standards of Thailand. Furthermore, the feasibility of using fly ash as an admixture to stabilize and solidify the ash?sludge mix generated previously was explored. Results indicated that the stabilization/solidification process can achieve a high level of heavy metal removal efficiency from the ash?sludge m...

The removal of heavy metal by microbial biomass have been investigated as an alternative to the traditional methods. The removal of the heavy metals copper and iron from discarded lubricating-oil was studied using the biosorbent Sargassum sp. It was chosen a discarded lubricating-oil of a bus fleet from the city of Natal-RN-Brazil. The oil was characterized to determine and quantify the heavy metals present. The effect of biomass protonation was performed in order to increase the removal efficiency of the metals. The equilibrium time between the oil and the biomass was determined. It was found that after 10 hours the equilibrium was reached. It was also studied the influence of biomass quantity. The results showed that the biomass quantity is an important parameter to the efficiency and biosorption capacity. The protonated biomass was shown more efficient to removal of Fe and Cu, removing 37,53% and 31,63% respectively. (author)

Immobilized algal technology for wastewater treatment purposes. Removal of copper by free and immobilized microalga, Chlorella vulgaris. Biosorption of heavy metals by microalgae in batch and continuous systems. Microalgal removal of organic and inorganic metal species from aqueous solution. Bioaccumulation and biotransformation of arsenic, antimony and bismuth compounds by freshwater algae. Metal ion binding by biomass derived from nonliving algae, lichens, water hyacinth root and spagnum moss. Metal resistance and accumulation in cyanobacteria. (orig.)

The present study aimed at effective management and purification of industrial wastewaters using cheaper and locally available local alum for removal of heavy metals as a substitute to convectional coagulants. The effect of local alum, aluminum sulphate and ferric chloride on the metal contents of industrial wastewaters was investigated in the pH range of 5.9-7.5. Wastewater samples from battery, paint and textile industries were treated with different doses of locally available alum, aluminum sulphate and ferric chloride in order to determine and compare their effectiveness in removing heavy metal contents of the wastewaters. The percentage removal of the metals from the industrial wastewaters increased with mg L-l dosage of the coagulants used with optimal performance generally at a slightly alkaline pH. Local alum proved to be equally effective in removing heavy metals from the industrial wastewater samples compared with the conventional aluminum sulphate and ferric chloride.

The mechanism of surface water remediation in a natural wetland that is receiving heavy metal-rich acidic mine drainage was investigated. Selective sequential extraction was useful to derive the mechanisms of heavy metal removal in the wetland. In the upstream portion of the wetland, dissolved Fe was removed mainly as oxide-bounded mineral phases, such as hydroxides. These are important for the subsequent removal of other heavy metals. Other ion-exchangeable and carbonate-bounded heavy metals are also observed in the upstream, associated with Fe oxides. Organic matter and Fe–Mn oxides in the upstream remove Cu and Zn ions from the drainage, respectively. In the middle of portion of the wetland the removal of heavy metal ions in relatively low concentrations occurs by the emergent vegetation. Greater clay abundance and higher microbial activity of sulfate reducing bacteria in the downstream parts achieved low-level removal of metals. Multi-cell wetlands are recommended for the treatment of acidic metal bearing surface water drainage, if sufficient land area and expenses are available to construct.   

In this work, laboratory results of physical and chemical treatment of the acid wastewater poured from Aznalcollar quarry (Sevilla, Spain) the last april 25, 1998, are presented. Experiments were carried out in the facilities of the Wastewater Treatment Research Group, University of Sevilla. Objectives were to adjust pH and to remove heavy metals from the water. Comparative results showed application of calcium hydroxide and aluminium policyholder as the most effective physical and chemical treatment for the water, in terms of pH adjustment and heavy metal removal. Data suggest that treatment systems including preliminary adjustment of water pH followed by addition of chemical coagulants, significantly alter the physical state of dissolved heavy metals and facilitate their removal by sedimentation. Such procedures might be useful for the treatment of surface waters polluted with high concentrations of heavy metals. (Author) 5 refs.

Stormwater runoff from motorway surfaces contains toxic heavy metals that are not sufficiently removed by current treatment systems. This research has investigated the potential use of inorganic ion exchange materials to further reduce the levels of dissolved heavy metals. Candidate materials (synthetic/natural zeolites, clay/modified clay, hydrotalcite, lignite) were tested by a shaking procedure (mixed 5 mg dm{sup -3} of each heavy metals, shaken for 10 min) and analysed by atomic absorption spectrometry. The synthetic zeolites MAP and Y showed 100% heavy metal removal and were investigated further by a series of batch experiments. The zeolites exhibited a selectivity sequence Pb > Cu > Cd {approx} Zn. Zeolite MAP has a high capacity for heavy metal uptake (4.5 meq g{sup -1}), but is not practical for use in a treatment facility owing to its low particle size (3 {mu}m). However, large zeolite pellets ({approx} 2 mm) were found to have a low heavy metal uptake ({approx} 44 %) due to diffusion limitations. Selected materials (zeolites MAP, Y, mordenite, and carbon-based lignite) were tested in actual and spiked motorway stormwater. The synthetic zeolites effectively remove heavy metals ({approx} 100 %) but change the environmental chemistry of the stormwater by releasing high concentrations of sodium, removing calcium ions and increasing the solution pH. The presence of other dissolved contaminants in motorway stormwater inhibited the uptake of heavy metals by the natural zeolite mordenite (34 % less removal). Alkali/alkaline-earth metals (Na, Ca) in solution compete for exchange sites in lignite and mordenite, reducing the heavy metal uptake. Chloride in solution forms complexes with cadmium, severely reducing its uptake by zeolite Y. The presence of dissolved road salt is a potentially serious concern as it causes previously exchanged heavy metals to be re-eluted, especially zinc and cadmium. Zeolite MAP as an exchanger is relatively unaffected by road salt. There is potential for the use of ion exchange materials to remove heavy metals from motorway stormwater, but a balance needs to be achieved between a practical particle size, capacity for heavy metal uptake and the potential environmental impact. (author)

This patent describes a process for removing heavy metal compounds from heavy crude. It comprises mixing sand mixture to a temperature of about 650{degrees} F; pyrolyzing the mixture in a horizontal screw pyrolysis reactor at a temperature of from about 650{degrees} to about 800{degrees} F to form oil vapors, product gas, solid residue, and unconverted heavy oil; recovering the oil vapors and gas; introducing the mixture of solid residue and unconverted heavy oil into an inclined fluidized-bed screw reactor; separating the unconverted heavy oil from the solid residue; heating the unconverted heavy oil to about 800{degrees} F and recycling the uncoverted heavy oil to the horizontal screw pyrolysis reactor; heating the solid residue to about 930{degrees} F in an inclined screw pyrolysis reactor to deposit the heavy metal compounds onto spent solids to produce upgraded oil and asphalt binder, and to remove any heavy oil remaining in the solid residue; burning the solid residue and product gas in an inclined fluidized bed combustor to generate process heat; separating the heavy metals by collecting the solids onto which the heavy metals have been deposited; and recovering upgraded oil and asphalt binder produced.

Macroalgae have received much attention for heavy metal removal in treatment of domestic wastewater. In this report, the uptake capacity of a common freshwater green alga, Cladophora fracta, for heavy metal ions (copper, zinc, cadmium, and mercury) was evaluated. The equilibrium adsorption capacities were 2.388 mg Cu2+, 1.623 mg Zn2+, 0.240 mg Cd2+, and 0.228 mg Hg2+ per gram of living algae at 18°C and pH 5.0. The removal efficiency for Cu2+, Zn2+, Cd2+, and Hg2+ were 99, 85, 97, and 98%, respectively. Greater removal efficiency was achieved when the concentrations of metal ions were at very low level. The results indicated that living algae are suitable for removal and recovery of heavy metal ions from aqueous solutions and can be a potential tool to treat industrial wastewater.

Adsorption treatment by chelate resin is widely used to remove toxic heavy metal ions from waste water. However, chelate resin is expensive and also disposed after use. Thus, alternative low-cost heavy metal adsorbent is required. On the other hand, hydroclassification technique is a conventional preliminary treatment to treat contaminated soil, which separates heavily contaminated fine particles from the site and reduces the amount of soil to be treated. But separated fine soil is disposed to landfill site in many cases because it is difficult to remove heavy metals from fine soil particles, which strongly adsorb heavy metals. Thus, by utilizing separated fine soil as heavy metal adsorbent, it is expected to promote reuse of soil wastes and reduce cost of waste water treatment.In this paper, adsorption of lead and cadmium ions on hydroclassified lead contaminated soil was investigated. The effect of treatment procedure and co-existing cations on removal of heavy metal ions was examined. It was clarified that calcium ion and low pH obstruct heavy metal adsorption. Residual lead concentration was reduced below environmental standard despite high concentration of obstructive cations. Cadmium concentration was also reduced, but environmental standard was cleared only when concentration of obstructive cations was low.   

The use of carbonaceous cathodes is an effective means to remove heavy metal contaminants from aqueous streams. By increasing the surface area of exisitng cathode materials or by using new high surface area materials, improvements in the removal efficiencies are obtained without a vast increase in electrode volume. By careful selection of the appropriate experimental parameters, selective removal and recovery of these metal ions is feasible.

Three aquatic plants Eichhornia crassipes, Lemna minor and Spirodela polyrhhiza were used in laboratory for the removal of heavy metals from the coal mining effluent. Plants were grown singly as well as in combination during 21 days phytoremediation experiment. Results revealed that combination of E. crassipes and L. minor was the most efficient for the removal of heavy metals while E. crassipes was the most efficient in monoculture. Significant correlations between metal concentration in final water and macrophytes were obtained. Translocation factor i.e. ratio of shoot to root metal concentration revealed that metals were largely retained in the roots of aquatic macrophytes. Analytical results showed that plant roots have accumulated heavy metals approximately 10 times of its initial concentration. These plants were also subjected to toxicity assessment and no symptom of metal toxicity was found therefore, this method can be applied on the large scale treatment of waste water where volumes generated are very high and concentrations of pollutants are low.

Sulfate-reducing bacteria were grown in media containing (1) mercury and (2) a mixture of heavy metals to determine if these bacteria could effectively precipitate heavy metals from an aqueous solutions. Previous studies have shown that (1) sulfate-reducing bacteria produce hydrogen sulfide and (2) that hydrogen sulfide reacts with various heavy metals producing insoluble complexes. Data from these studies showed that when bacteria were incubated with heavy metals for 2 to 4 days a marked decrease in the solubility of mercury, lead and cadmium resulted. For example, after incubation with sulfate-reducing bacteria 90% of the mercury, zinc, lead and cadmium, and 60% of the copper and iron were filterable. The results suggest that sulfate-reducing bacteria may be used to remove heavy metal contaminants from aqueous solutions.

In the past, granular activated carbon (GAC) columns have been used to remove trace amounts of organic compounds from various aqueous waste streams. If heavy metals were present, other processes such as precipitation, reverse osmosis, or ion exchange would be added to the treatment flow sheet. Significant savings could result if organic-heavy metal wastewaters could be successfully treated using a single process. Researchers at West Virginia University in conjunction with Norit Americas, Inc. have recently developed a GAC column process that removes heavy metals from the aqueous phase using GAC columns. Because the ability of using GAC columns to remove organic contaminants is well known, the next logical step is to demonstrate the feasibility of the GAC process to simultaneously remove organic and inorganic contaminants. In this study, two synthetic wastewaters, 1 mg/L Pb-10 mg/L phenol and 1 mg/L Pb-1 mg/L TCE, were treated by GAC columns containing the Norit Americas, Inc. carbon Hydrodarco (HD) 4000.

Seaweed can be anaerobically digested for the production of energy-rich methane. However, the use of seaweed digestate as a fertilizer may be restricted because of the high heavy metal content especially cadmium. Reducing the concentration of heavy metals in the digestate will enable its use as a fertilizer. In this laboratory-scale study, the potential of seaweed and its leachate in the production of methane were evaluated in batch tests. The effect of removing the heavy metals from seaweed leachate was evaluated in both batch test and treatment in an upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor. The heavy metals were removed from seaweed leachate using an imminodiacetic acid (IDA) polyacrylamide cryogel carrier. The methane yield obtained in the anaerobic digestion of seaweed was 0.12 ...

environment via a hydrophobic oil membrane. EZVI is composed of a ... The removal of heavy metals from seawater or brackish water matrices is a ... of seawater while removing specific ions that are in a relatively low concentration compared to .... Competitive technologies, utilizing ex situ ion exchange, fail to selectively ...

In this examination, highly contaminated wheat which on account of a sewer slude fertilization showed high contents of cadmium (1 mg/kg), nickel (2,5 mg/kg) and zinc (75 mg/kg) was subjected to two different hulling procedures (laboratory pearler and pressing screw) to determine the reduction of the heavy metals. About 5-10% of the heavy metals cadmium and zinc could be removed by the hulling procedures with an abrasion of 4-6%, nickel was reduced by about 15%. The lead contamination could be removed by about 50%. The best reduction of the heavy metals was achieved by the grinding procedure. In the low-ash flours of the types 405 and 550, the contents of the heavy metals were reduced by more than 50%. In the flours of the types 812 and 1050 being higher on ash, the heavy metal contents were reduced by about 35-40% as compared to the initial product. In the high-ash low-grade flours, the heavy metal contents rose already to twice the concentration as to that in the initial wheat. In the bran fractions the heavy metal contents finally rise to two to five times the amount as in the initial wheat. The findings well conform to results from earlier investigations determined in normally contaminated wheat and wheat grinding fractions.

The presence, transport, and ultimate fate of heavy metals in landfill leachate are discussed. The influence of chemical activity and complexation on the behavior of metals in such environments is investigated. Leachates generated in experiments had high concentrations of dissolved ions and organic and inorganic ligands. These substances favored the removal of heavy metals primarily by precipitation as sulfides. This removal was enhanced by the increased stabilization rates and filtering action promoted by the recirculation of leachate through the landfill mass. (1 diagram, 13 graphs, 15 references, 2 tables)

A process is disclosed for removing heavy metal contaminants from impure alkali metal nitrates containing them. The process comprises mixing the impure nitrates with sufficient water to form a concentrated aqueous solution of the impure nitrates, adjusting the pH of the resulting solution to within the range of between about 2 and about 7, adding sufficient reducing agent to react with heavy metal contaminants within said solution, adjusting the pH of the solution containing reducing agent to effect precipitation of heavy metal impurities and separating the solid impurities from the resulting purified aqueous solution of alkali metal nitrates. The resulting purified solution of alkali metal nitrates may be heated to evaporate water therefrom to produce purified molten alkali metal nitrate suitable for use as a heat transfer medium. If desired, the purified molten form may be granulated and cooled to form discrete solid particles of alkali metal nitrates.

The application of transgenic plants to clean up environmental pollution caused by the wastes of heavy metal mining is a promising method for removing metal pollutants from soils. However, the effect of using genetically modified organisms for phytoremediation is a poorly researched topic in terms o...

This bibliography contains citations concerning techniques and equipment for the treatment of industrial (except mining) effluent streams. Consideration is given to the removal, reclamation, and recycling of various trace metals, heavy metals, hydrocarbons, and oily waste waters to meet regulatory agency discharge or in-plant reuse standards. (This updated bibliography contains 85 citations, all of which are new entries to the previous edition.)

This bibliography contains citations concerning techniques and equipment for the treatment of industrial (except mining) effluent streams. Consideration is given to the removal, reclamation, and recycling of various trace metals, heavy-metals, hydrocarbons, and oily waste waters to meet regulatory agency discharge or inplant reuse standards. (This updated bibliography contains 109 citations, 24 of which are new entries to the previous edition.)

Heavy metal pollution has become a major environmental concern nowadays and the bioremediation of polluted habitats is an increasingly popular strategy due to both its efficiency and safety. A screening and selection protocol based on different composting processes was designed in order to isolate heavy metal-resistant microorganisms. A collection of 51 microorganisms was obtained and most of them showed the capability to tolerate heavy metals in multi-polluted aqueous systems (Cd(II), Cr(VI), Ni, Pb, Zn(II)), as well as to remove them. The highest detoxification ratios were observed for Pb. Some of the isolates detoxifying more than a 90% of this metal, while the other metals were removed in a range between 20% and 60%. The best isolates (Graphium putredinis, Fusarium solani, Fusarium sp....

The study reports removal of heavy metals when present singly or in binary and ternary systems by the milling agrowaste of Cicer arientinum (chickpea var. black gram) as the biosorbent. The biosorbent removed heavy metal ions efficiently from aqueous solutions with the selectivity order of Pb>Cd>Zn>Cu>Ni. The biosorption of metal ions by black gram husk (BGH) increased as the initial metal concentration increased. Biosorption equilibrium was established within 30 min, which was well described by the Langmuir and Freundlich adsorption isotherms. The maximum amount of heavy metals (qmax) adsorbed at equilibrium was 49.97, 39.99, 33.81, 25.73 and 19.56 mg/g BGH biomass for Pb, Cd, Zn, Cu and Ni, respectively. The biosorption capacities were found to be pH dependent and the maximum adsorption occurred at the solution pH 5. Efficiency of the biosorbent to remove Pb from binary and ternary solutions with Cd, Cu, Ni and Zn was the same level as it was when present singly. The presence of Pb in the binary and ternary solutions also did not significantly affect the sorption of other metals. Breakthrough curves for continuous removal of Pb from single, binary and ternary metal solutions are reported for inlet-effluent equilibrium. Complete desorption of Pb and other metals in single and multimetal solutions was achieved with 0.1 M HCl in both shake flask and fixed bed column studies. This is the first report of removal of the highly toxic Pb, Cd, and other heavy metals in binary and ternary systems based on the biosorption by an agrowaste. The potential of application for the treatment of solutions containing these heavy metals in multimetal solutions is indicated. PMID:15621354

Heavy metals are the most important pollutants in wastewater from dual-alkali flue gas desulfurization (FGD) system. Mn(II) and Zn(II) could predominate in the catalyzed oxidation of sulfite. So the feasibility of precipitation of heavy metal ion (Mn(II) and Zn(II)) by water-soluble chitosan was studied in a lab scale experiment. The association between chitosan and metal ions was verified through FT-IR. The pH investigation revealed that at the pH ranged from 5 to 9, there were three stages for different actions: chelation of chitosan for metal ion, precipitation of metal hydroxide and coprecipitation of metal hydroxide and chitosan-metal complex. The selective chelation of chitosan for Mn(II) and Zn(II) mixture solution was also studied. The results showed that the chelation of chitosan for Mn(II) was prior to Zn(II) in multiple component solution. Compared with the settling of metal hydroxide, the chitosan-metal complex had better separating performance. Application of chitosan solution for chelation could remove Mn(II) and Zn(II) efficiently and make it easily to separate sediment from dual-alkali FGD wastewater. On the other hand co-precipitation of the complicate heavy metal in the FGD wastewater enhanced the heavy metal removal of chitosan chelation.

Many aquatic macrophytes have the capacity to take up toxic heavy metals from polluted water and accumulate them. Cut leaves and intact plants have been suggested for clearing polluted water bodies of heavy metals. However, uptake of metal ion from water is dependent on concentration, pH, temperature, presence of other substances and functional and morphological status of the biotic species. In an attempt to understand any correlation between metal bioconcentration, pH and temperature, the optimal conditions for the removal of cadmium ions by duckweed, Lemna minor (L.) were studied.

The feasibility of metals removal from municipal sludges that may be disposed of on agricultural land was studied. Heavy metal accumulation in such vegetables as lettuce and heavy metal toxicity to such crops as oats, beans, corn, and radishes is of concern. The purpose of the study was to assess metal removal systems for sludges obtained from the Joint Water Pollution Control Plant, Carson, Calif. Primary sludge, waste activated sludge, and their anaerobically digested counterparts were dosed with sulfuric acid and the chelating agent, ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA), to effect metal solubilization. Seven metals were examined for removal from sludge: Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Pb, Ni, and Zn. Recovery of metals from the sludges was also examined. Using an acid dosage to effect pH decrease to pH 2 and a-stirring time of 24 hours, the removal efficiencies for Fe, Zn, Ni, and Cr were found to be upwards of 75%. Removal efficiencies for Pb and Cd were less, at about 30 to 70%. At less than 10%, Cu was hardly removed. Metal extraction using EDTA gave slightly higher removal efficiencies for Cd, Pb, and Cu. The recovery of solubilized metals from solution with lime was very successful at greater than 90% efficiencies. Examination of the dewaterability of the acid-treated sludge found no significant difference between treated and untreated. Preliminary estimates indicated that about 0.5 metric ton of acid would be required for each dry metric ton of sludge solids to effect significant metal removal of better than 50% of the cadmium and 33% of the lead. To precipitate the metals from the acid filtrate, 1 metric ton of lime per dry metric ton of sludge would be needed. Considering the chemical costs and metal removal efficiency by sludge acidification, it would seem that industrial source control would be a more practical approach, although its full economic impact on the industries has not been estimated.

A promising method for removing heavy metal ions from dilute effluents is ion or precipitate flotation, in which a suitable collector is added to form hydrophobic metal collector complexes or compounds that can be collected as foams. The authors have successfully removed Cu(II), Cd(II), and PB(II) from dilute solutions using sodium dodecylsulfate and ethanol as collector and frother respectively. However, the process would not be economically viable unless the collector could be recycled, and the heavy metals recovered in a concentrated, preferably marketable, form from the foams. The authors investigated four different methods to decompose heavy metal-dodecylsulfate complexes, namely precipitation of hydroxides, precipitation of sulfides, chemical stripping, and electrolysis. The authors compare the performance of these methods. In each case the observed behavior is related to known thermodynamic data, and potential applications are discussed.

Heavy metal pollution of aqueous effluents is a matter of widespread concern. The use of low-cost materials for the adsorption of heavy metals seems to be a suitable choice for waste water treatment. Polyporus tenuiculus, easily cultivated on lignocellulosic waste, was assayed for Cu, Pb and Cd removal from aqueous solutions. Pb was removed more efficiently. Kinetics studies suggested a pseudo-second-order reaction and equilibrium was reached in ? 30 min in all cases. The metal-sorption data were analysed according to several two-parameter isotherms. Data better fitted the Langmuir model for the three metals. A great dependence of metal adsorption with pH was observed. Characterisation of both the biomass and the complex metal-biomass was performed by FT-IR and SEM-EDX. Results...

Heavy metals are toxic to marine organisms above a threshold availability yet many are essential to metabolism at lower concentrations. Heavy metal concentrations are raised locally in coastal waters but levels in open oceans have stabilized during the earth's history and oceanic dissolved concentrations are typically controlled not be the rate of entry of metals from land but by the rate of their removal from solution via geochemical and more usually biological processes, the metals being accumulated by marine organisms. Uptake of heavy metals from solution by marine organisms depends on the availability of free metal ions, often a low proportion of total metal present as a result of complexation with organic and inorganic ligands. Nevertheless hydrophobic metal compounds are taken up relatively quickly and metal uptake may involve the binding of the hydrophilic free metal ion with a ligand for passage across the cell membrane. Metals accumulated by marine organisms may either be maintained in a metabolically available form with the concurrent possibility of toxic effects of may be detoxified. Possible detoxification mechanisms include the formation of insoluble metal-rich granules to be stored or excreted, and the binding of some heavy metals with metallothioneins.

Removal of toxic heavy metals from a soil matrix by the addition of ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA) is an effective means of remediation. The liquid stream containing the metal and chelating agent is amenable to further treatment by electrolysis in which the metal can be separated from the chelating agent. This provides a separated metal than can be removed for reuse or treated for final disposal by conventional technologies and a reclaimed EDTA stream that can be used again for treatment of contaminated soil. Under the diffusion controlled conditions of polarography or voltammetry, the authors observed reduction of cadmium, copper and lead ions and their protonated EDTA complexes (MHY[sup [minus

Electrodialytic remediation (EDR) was used to remove Cu, Zn, Pb, and Cd from contaminated harbor sediment. Extraction experiments were made prior to EDR, and the metal desorption was pH dependent but not liquid-to-solid ratio (L/S) dependent. The desorption order was Cd $GRT Zn $GRT Pb $GRT Cu. Electrodialytic experiments were made with HCl as desorbing agent in a sediment suspension, which was stirred during EDR. Effects of different current strengths and L/S ratios on the heavy metal removal were investigated on wet and air-dried sediment. The effects of drying the sediment were negligible for the removal of Cu, Zn, and Pb, probably due to oxidation of the sediments during stirring. Contrary, Cd removal was lower in the wet sediment as compared to the air-dried. The heavy metal removal was influenced by higher current strengths and varying L/S ratios. The highest removal obtained was in an experiment with dry sediment (L/S 8) and a 70 mA applied current that lasted 14 days. These experimental conditions were thereafter used to remediate more strongly contaminated sediments. Regardless of the initial heavy metal concentrations in the sediments, 67-87% Cu, 79-98% Cd, 90-97% Zn, and 91-96% Pb were removed. $CPY 2005 American Chemical Society.

The unextracted residue obtained after a countercurrent two-step extractive process of silica from pumice lapillus, at 100 degrees C and room pressure, has been found mainly crystallized to the pseudo-cubic form typical of zeolite P. This residue could be active as a low-cost agent for the removal of heavy metals from wastewater. In this paper the removal capacity of six metallic cations (i.e. Cu(2+), Ni(2+), Zn(2+), Cd(2+), Pb(2+) and Cr(3+)) was studied in a stirred batch reactor. Results obtained showed that the removal of metal ions (100-500mgg(-1)) from wastewater is achieved in a short time and the concentration lowered under the legal limits. The adsorption mechanism mainly involves an ionic exchange between sodium ions from the solid phase and heavy metals in solution. However, if wastewater was accompanied by free acidity, it first should be neutralized to pH 4-5 to prevent zeolite destruction. PMID:16326003

The proposed research aims to develop a fundamental understanding of important biological and physical chemical parameters for effective decontamination of metal surfaces using environmentally benign aqueous-based biopolymer solutions. Understanding how heavy metal-chelating biopolymers coat and interact with contaminated surfaces will benefit the development of novel, safe, easy-to-apply decontamination methodologies for removal of radionuclides and heavy metals. The benefits of these methodologies will include the following: (1) decreased exposure hazards for workers; (2) decreased secondary waste generation; (3) increased efficiency of decontamination; (4) positive public appeal and development of novel, nature-friendly business opportunities; and (5) lower cost of cleanup to the government. We propose to use aqueous biopolymer solutions to coat a contaminated metal surface (i.e., steel), solubilize the heavy metals (e.g., uranium) from the surface, and bind the heavy metals into the biopolymer. The biopolymer coating (containing the immobilized hazardous metal contaminants) will then be removed as a viscous film, as a dry powder, or by washing. This ''apply, wait, and remove'' procedure will reduce the amount of worker time spent in decontamination activities.

Seaweed can be anaerobically digested for the production of energy-rich methane. However, the use of seaweed digestate as a fertilizer may be restricted because of the high heavy metal content especially cadmium. Reducing the concentration of heavy metals in the digestate will enable its use as a fertilizer. In this laboratory-scale study, the potential of seaweed and its leachate in the production of methane were evaluated in batch tests. The effect of removing the heavy metals from seaweed leachate was evaluated in both batch test and treatment in an upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor. The heavy metals were removed from seaweed leachate using an imminodiacetic acid (IDA) polyacrylamide cryogel carrier. The methane yield obtained in the anaerobic digestion of seaweed was 0.12 N l CH(4)/g VS(added). The same methane yield was obtained when the seaweed leachate was used for methane production. The IDA-cryogel carrier was efficient in removing Cd(2+), Cu(2+), Ni(2+) and Zn(2+) ions from seaweed leachate. The removal of heavy metals in the seaweed leachate led to a decrease in the methane yield. The maximum sustainable organic loading rate (OLR) attained in the UASB reactor was 20.6 g tCOD/l/day corresponding to a hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 12 h and with a total COD removal efficiency of about 81%. Hydrolysis and treatment with IDA cryogel reduced the heavy metals content in the seaweed leachate before methane production. This study also demonstrated the suitability of the treatment of seaweed leachate in a UASB reactor. PMID:20382468

When dissolved heavy metals are accompanied by ligands (organic and inorganic) in a wastewater stream, conventional removal methods, such as precipitation, become hindered. Heavy metals remain in solution due to complexation with ligands. Non-conventional methods such as selective ion-exchange also do not work because of reduced selectivity when strong ligands are present in a system. As industry forges ahead improving purification processes used in the metal plating and electronics sectors, the removal of metals in the presence of strong ligands becomes more of a problem. Heavy metals that would have normally precipitated out, using past purification methods, are remaining in solution because of complexation with heavy metals. Trace levels are approaching or surpassing, the Environmental Protection Agencies (EPA) maximum concentration limits (MCL). The primary objective of this project is to characterize some new and tailored polymeric sorbents for the selective sorption of anionic metal-ligand complexes. The basic concept of the process the authors are developing is to tailor a resin in such a way that it will have a high affinity for an array of predefined target ions (metal (2) ions, ligands and metal-ligand complexes) present in trace concentrations, all at the same time.

A Superfund Innovative Technology Evaluation (SITE) demonstration was conducted of the Dynaphore/Forager Sponge technology during the week of April 3, 1994 at the N.L. Industries Superfund Site in Pedricktown, New Jersey. The Forager Sponge is an open-celled cellulose sponge incorporating an amine-containing chelating polymer that selectively absorbs dissolved heavy metals in both cationic and anionic states. This technology is a volume reduction technology in which heavy metal contaminants from an aqueous medium are concentrated into a smaller volume for facilitated disposal. The developer states that the technology can be used to remove heavy metals from a wide variety of aqueous media, such as groundwater, surface waters and process waters. The sponge matrix can be directly disposed, or regenerated with chemical solutions. For this demonstration the sponge was set up as a mobile pump-and-treat system which treated groundwater contaminated with heavy metals. The demonstration focused on the system`s ability to remove lead, cadmium, chromium and copper from the contaminated groundwater over a continuous 72-hour test. The removal of heavy metals proceeded in the presence of significantly higher concentrations of innocuous cations such as calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium and aluminum.

Sequestering and removing toxic metal ions from their surroundings is an increasingly active area of research and is gaining importance in light of current environmental contamination problems both within the DOE complex and externally. One method of separating metal ions is to complex them to a molecule (a ligand or chelator) which exhibits specific binding affinity for a toxic metal, even in the presence of other more benign metals. This approach makes use of the sometimes subtle differences between toxic and non-toxic metals resulting from variations in size, charge and shape. For example, toxic metals such as chromium, arsenic, and technetium exist in the environment as oxyanions, negatively charged species with a characteristic tetrahedral shape. Other toxic metals such as actinides and heavy metals are positively charged spheres with specific affinities for particular donor atoms such as oxygen (for actinides) and nitrogen (for heavy metals). In most cases the toxic metals are found in the presence of much larger quantities of less toxic metals such as sodium, calcium and iron. The selectivity of the chelators is critical to the goal of removing the toxic metals from their less toxic counterparts. The approach was to build a ligand framework that complements the unique characteristics of the toxic metal (size, charge and shape) while minimizing interactions with non-toxic metals. The authors have designed ligands exhibiting specificity for the target metals; they have synthesized, characterized and tested these ligands; and they have shown that they exhibit the proposed selectivity and cooperative binding effects.

Transition Metal Sulfides (TMS), such as molybdenum disulfide (MoS.sub.2), are the petroleum industry's "workhorse" catalysts for upgrading heavy petroleum feedstocks and removing sulfur, nitrogen and other pollutants from fuels. We have developed an improved synthesis technique to produce SLTMS catalysts, such as molybdenum disulfide, with potentially greater activity and specificity than those currently available. Applications for this technology include heavy feed upgrading, in-situ catalysis, bio-fuel conversion and coal liquefaction.

This article describes a pilot project for solar aquatic treatment of septage. The system is housed in a 42 ft by 128 ft greenhouse and consists of four parallel trains of aerated transparent tanks and constructed marshes. Each treatment tank is seeded with a mixture of bacteria, snails, algae and aquatic and woody plants that remove nitrates and pollutants such as heavy metals. Critics of solar aquatic systems point out that the heavy metals and other pollutants then become a solid waste disposal problem. Among the solutions offered are the use of hyperaccumulators of metals that produce ore-grade concentrations that can be efficiently recycled.

A wide variety of contaminants (heavy metals, suspended solids, colloids, oils, organics) have been successfully removed from wastewater using an electrocoagulation process. An innovative electrocoagulation system is described. This process involves a procedure which subjects dissolved and suspended wastewater contaminants to the simultaneous addition of metal ions in the presence of direct current. During the treatment process ionic and other charged particles in the wastewater are neutralized with oppositely charged ions generating the coagulation of contaminants: The process is called CURE, and presented here with application to wastewaters containing mainly heavy metals.

Microbial biomasses are highly capable to accumulate heavy metal ions from aqueous solutions as is proven by the high metal loadings of activated sludges from waste water treatment plants. Biosorption of heavy metal ions is observed on viable as well as dead biomasses whereby various mechanisms can be active (for instance precipitation, adsorption, complexation, ion exchange). It is presently difficult to evaluate whether or not passive biosorption can ever compete with conventional techniques of heavy metal removal. However, this can rather be expected by making use of active bioprocesses where the metal species undergoes a biochemical transformation. In case of the toxic mercury bacteria strains could be isolated which are not only remarkably Hg resistent but transform mercury salts to elemental Hg. Thus Hg can be accumulated to a very high extent. (orig.).

'Soils and waters contaminated with high levels of heavy metals such as Cadmium, Lead and Copper are detrimental to human and environmental health. Many human disorders have been attributed to environmental contamination by heavy metals. Removal of heavy metals from highly contaminated sites is therefore a very costly but necessary process that is currently being pursued. Recent research in several laboratories indicates that uptake of heavy metals into plants via the root system may provide a cost-effective approach for decontamination of certain heavy metal-laden soils and waters. Several mechanisms have been identified, which allow detoxification in the cytosol and vacuoles of plants. However, the molecular biological mechanisms by which heavy metals are transported from soils across the plasma membrane into roots have remained largely unknown. In recent research, the laboratory has cloned a cation uptake transporter cDNA from plants. Yeast cells expressing this cDNA show enhanced uptake of calcium and cadmium. The proposed research is testing the transport of toxic and nutrient metals by the encoded protein.'

Heavy metal removals and particle size distributions were presented for both hydroxide precipitation and sulfide precipitation of zinc, cadmium, copper, and nickel in the presence of various complexing agents. Both batch and continuous experiments were performed for synthetic and actual metal-containing wastewaters. Metal concentrations complexing agent concentrations, sulfide dosages, pH levels of the solutions, and reaction or residence times were varied to determine the reaction kinetics. Sulfide precipitation always achieved lower residual metal concentrations than the corresponding hydroxide precipitation. The presence of strong complexing agents severely inhibited the removal of heavy metal by the precipitation process. Weak complexing agents exhibited little effect on the chemical equilibria for both hydroxide and sulfide precipitation systems. Weak complexing agents did affect the particle size distribution through a nucleation/growth inhibition, general forming smaller particles.

The excessive release of heavy metals into the environment is a major concern worldwide. Adsorption process is among the most effective techniques for heavy metals removal from waste streams and activated carbon has been widely used as an adsorbent. Therefore, this study was carried out to examine the potential and effectiveness of granular activated carbon (GAC) to remove heavy metals, particularly cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) through adsorption from the prepared solutions respectively. A fixed bed column test was conducted to simulate the actual condition of adsorption in a continuous manner in a filtration process. Different flow rates were used to evaluate their effects on the column performance where different breakthrough curves were obtained. The Adam-Bohart breakthrough curve equatio...

Three hybrid inorganic/organic adsorbents based on alumina and phenylazoformic acid 2-phenylhydrazide were synthesized, characterized and examined for their heavy metal sorption properties. The main purpose of this research paper is to study and explore the combined hybrid characters of inorganic/organic sorbents for the selective removal and preconcentration of heavy metals via static and dynamic solid phase techniques from industrial wastewater and drinking tap water samples as well. The hybrid inorganic/organic adsorbents were identified as strongly resistive to leaching in solutions with pH 1-7 and thermally stable up to 350°C. Optimization of heavy metal removal by implementation of newly designed hybrid inorganic/organic adsorbents was studied in presence of various factors as t...

Larrea tridentata (creosote bush) is a plant that grows in the desert environment abundantly. This desert plant has been found naturally growing in heavy-metal contaminated soils. Previous experiments showed that the inactivated biomass of creosote bush was able to adsorb Cu(II) ions from aqueous solutions. The copper binding capacity of the creosote biomass that grows in heavy-metal uncontaminated soils was higher than the biomass that grows in heavy-metal contaminated soils. Experiments were performed to determine the ability of creosote biomass (grown in heavy metal uncontaminated soils) to adsorb Pb(II), Cd(II), Zn(II), Cr(III), Cr(VI), and Ni(II) ions from aqueous solutions. Batch pH profile experiments for the indicated metal ions showed that the metal ion binding was different for every metal tested but increased as the pH was raised as high as 6.0. The metal ion uptake by the creosote`s roots, stems, and leaves was quite fast. Binding capacity experiments showed a more significant binding capacity for lead(II) and chromium(III) ions and in general, the leaves bound more metal ions than the stems and roots. A great portion of the adsorbed metal ions by the creosote`s roots, stems, and leaves was desorbed by treatment with 0.1 M HCl (up to 99% in some cases). Biomass of creosote bush may prove to be useful to remove and recover metal ions from contaminated waters.

Copper and zinc removal from water (pH = 5.0) using adsorbents produced from slow and fast pyrolysis of industrial sludge and industrial sludge mixed with a disposal filter cake (FC), post treated with HCl, is investigated in comparison with a commercial adsorbent F400. The results show that a pseudo-second order kinetics model is followed. The Langmuir-Freundlich isotherm model is found to fit the data best. The capacity for heavy metal removal of studied adsorbents is generally better than that of commercial F400. The dominant heavy metal removal mechanism is cation exchange. Higher heavy metal removal capacity is associated with fast pyrolysis adsorbents and sludge/FC derived adsorbents, due to enhanced cation exchange. Improvement of Zn(2+) removal via 1 N HCl post-treatment is only effective when exchangeable cations of the adsorbent are substituted with H(+) ions, which boost the cation exchange capacity. Increase of temperature also enhances metal removal capacity. Fast pyrolysis sludge-based adsorbents can be reused after several adsorption-desorption cycles. PMID:22402272

Considering the harmful effects of heavy metals, it is necessary to remove them from liquid wastes at least to a limit accepted by regulatory agencies before their discharge to the environment – i.e. there is a need for a capable, cost-effective treatment method. The application of an innovative, si...

Carbon aerogel electrodes have been used to remove NH{sub 4}ClO{sub 4} and heavy metals from aqueous waste streams. Photochemical oixdation with H{sub 2}O{sub 2} has been used to destroy organic contamination and is proposed as a means of avoiding the fouling of carbon aerogel electrodes.

8 pages, 7 figures, 3 tables. -- Available online 11 December 2008. | The goal of this study is to investigate the preparation of low-cost activated carbon from bean pods waste and to explore their potential application for the removal of heavy metals from aqueous solutions. Conventional physical (w...

The bibliography contains citations concerning developments, operations, and evaluations of the treatment of wastewaters and sludges in natural and artificial wetlands. The citations also examine aquaculture treatments of industrial, municipal, and domestic wastewaters. Topics include nutrient removal, heavy metal recovery, and case studies of wetlands being used for wastewater treatment. (Contains 250 citations and includes a subject term index and title list.)

by ion bombardment via either direct impingement or charge exchange. Hollow cathodes are ... to energetic heavy particle bombardment, presumably energetic xenon ions. Findings from these ..... is a metal typically used in the ..... Figure. 4b. Gaussian fit to 10.5 A case with low energy ion contribution removed. 0.16 o 0.14 ...

constituent exchange cations as well as hydrate/dehydrate without change to their .... via commercial fertilizers). ..... regolith. Recovery of useful constituents ( ranging from oxygen and hydrogen to chromium and nickel), removal ..... 8), 2) traps for heavy metal ions (e.g., Cd, Pb, Zn) in soils [25, 26, 27, 28, 29], 3) dietary ...

A biosensor is constructed to detect heavy metals from inhibition of alkaline phosphatase (AP) present on the external membrane of Chlorella vulgaris microalgae. The microalgal cells are immobilized on removable membranes placed in front of the tip of an optical fiber bundle inside a homemade microc...

The use of carbon felt as a three-dimensional electrode appears to be very promising for the recovery of heavy metals, and toxic compounds removal from dilute solutions, considering its favourable physico-chemical properties : high specific surface area, good fluid permeability and compressibility, ...

Aug 19, 2008 ... chemical characterization of exfoliated graphite oxide", Journal of. Colloid and Interface ..... of heavy metal contaminants in the final materials if not removed. Graphite ..... addition, reducing atmospheres may be used, such as carbon monoxide ..... trodes, as adsorbent material, as dispersant, as lubricant, in ...

Sep 11, 2008 ... chemical characterization of exfoliated graphite oxide", Journal of. Colloid and Interface ..... of heavy metal contaminants in the final materials if not removed. Graphite ..... addition, reducing atmospheres may be used, such as carbon monoxide ..... trodes, as adsorbent material, as dispersant, as lubricant, in ...

Sulfide precipitation is superior to hydroxide precipitation for removal of heavy metals from wastewaters as it results in lower effluent concentrations and less interference from chelating agents. However, sulfide precipitation is not widely applied in practice because the dosing of sulfide cannot ...

Objective of the research is to determine the practical running parameters for neutralization and removal of heavy metals from plating wastewater with waste-oyster shells by the Bohart-Adams equation. Waste-oyster shells discharged from the domestic oyster culturing fields cause a serious ocean environmental pollution. However, it is expected that those are able to be recycled for removal of heavy metals through neutralization of plating wastewater because the shells contain approximate 93% CaCO{sub 3} and have multi-pore voids. By applying the results of the continuous experiments to Bohart-Adams equation, service time decreases in the order of Cr > Fe > Cu, while removal efficiencies of metals become less in the order of Fe > Cr > Cu. (author). 9 refs., 4 tabs., 8 figs.

Discharge of heavy metals from metal processing industries is known to have adverse effects on the environment. Biosorption of heavy metals by metabolically inactive biomass of microbial organisms is an innovative and alternative technology for removal of these pollutants from aqueous solution. The search of marine actinobacteria with potential heavy metal biosorption ability resulted in the identification of a novel alkalophilic Streptomyces VITSVK5 species. The biosorption property of Streptomyces VITSVK5 spp. was investigated by absorbing heavy metals Cadmium (Cd) and Lead (Pb). Physiochemical characteristics and trace metal concentration analysis of the backwater showed the concentrations of different metals were lead 13±2.1 ?g L-1, cadmium 3.1±0.3?g L-1, zinc 8.4±2.6?g L-1 and copper 0.3±0.1?g L-1, whereas mercury was well below the detection limit. The effect of pH and biomass dosage on removal efficiency of heavy metal ions was also investigated. The optimum pH for maximal biosorption was 4.0 for Cd (II) and 5.0 for Pb (II) with 41% and 84% biosorption respectively. The biosorbent dosage was optimized as 3 g L-1 for both the trace metals. Fourier transform infrared absorption spectrum results indicated the chemical interactions of hydrogen atoms in carboxyl (-COOH), hydroxyl (-CHOH) and amine (-NH2) groups of biomass with the metal ions. This could be mainly involved in the biosorption of Cd (II) and Pb (II) onto Streptomyces VITSVK5 spp. The results of our study revealed Streptomyces metabolites could be used to develop a biosorbent for adsorbing metal ions from aqueous environments.

A new powdered-carbon treatment process is being developed for the elimination of the present problems, associated with the disposal of biologically active sewage waste solids, and with water reuse. This counter-current flow process produces an activated carbon, which is obtained from the pyrolysis of the sewage solids, and utilizes this material to remove the adulterating materials from the water. Additional advantages of the process are the elimination of odors, the removal of heavy metals, and the potential for energy conservation.

For a large number of contaminated sites there exists the need to treat contaminated groundwater either because it was part of the chosen remediation or confinement plan (e.g., ``pump and treat``) or because a liquid residual is produced from the in-situ or ex-situ treatment scheme. The groundwater or liquid residual are often contaminated with both heavy metals and organic contaminants. GAC columns are an established method for removing organic contaminants from aqueous waste streams. If heavy metals are present, additional treatment processes, such as, precipitation and ion exchange, are required. Recently, the authors have demonstrated that GAC columns are effective in removing metals to very low levels in waste streams containing only heavy metals. Based on these results, it is envisioned that GAC columns could be used to remove organic contaminants and heavy metals from aqueous waste streams in a single process. If the use of GAC columns in this manner is demonstrated to be technically and economically feasible, it could represent a significant tool in the plan to remediate the nation`s hazardous waste sites as well as treat industrial wastewaters and landfill leachates. A series of pilot-scale GAC column experiments were performed on synthetic waste streams containing: (1) PbNaNO{sub 3} (as background electrolyte); Pb in a process water containing diverse anions and cations (3) Pb-phenol, and (4) Pb-TCE. Column breakthrough curves were determined and several column performance parameters were calculated.

Bottom and fly ash collected from automobile shredder residue (ASR) incinerator have been characterized in terms of particle size, compositions, and heavy metal leaching by the standard TCLP method. Two alternative methods were also examined for the treatment of heavy metals in ASR incinerator ash from the aspect of recycling into construction or lightweight aggregate material. It was remarkable that the concentration of Cu was very high compared to common MSWI bottom and fly ash, which was probably originated from copper wires contained in ASR. As a whole, the results of characterization of ASR fly ash were in good agreement with common MSWI fly ash in terms of particle size, pH, and water-soluble compounds. It was clearly found that heavy metals could be removed thoroughly or partly from ASR fly ash through acid washing with dilute HCl solution so that the remaining fly ash could be landfilled or used as construction material. It was also found that the amount of heavy metal leachability of lightweight aggregate pellet prepared with ASR incineration ash could be significantly decreased so that the application of it to lightweight aggregate would be possible without pre-treatment for the removal of heavy metals. PMID:17316985

Removal and separation of lead(II) and cadmium(II) and those of chromium(III), nickel(II), and zinc(II) in aqueous solution were examined by use of hydroxyapatite (n-HAp) prepared from fish scales. These removal reactions proceeded quickly, and lead(II) and chromium(III) could be removed well. And the possibility of separating lead ion from cadmium ion in aqueous solution was confirmed. As the n-HAp can be supplied at a low price by using scales of fishery waste, it is expected to be available for practical use to remove and recover some toxic heavy metal ions from industrial waste.   

Heavy metals in biosolids (sewage sludge) applied to land contaminate the soil. Phytoremediation, the use of plants to clean up toxic heavy metals, might remove them. Chelating agents are added to soil to solubilize the metals for enhanced phytoextraction. Yet no studies follow the displacement and leaching of heavy metals in soil with biosolids following solubilization with chelates. The objective of this work was to determine the mobility of heavy metals, as affected by a chelate, in soil (Haynie very fine sandy loam) from a 25-year old sludge farm. Soil columns (105 cm long; 39 cm in diameter) either had a plant (hybrid poplar; Populus deltoides Marsh. x P. nigra L.) or no plant. When the poplars were 144 days old, the tetrasodium salt of the chelating agent EDTA (ethylenediamine-tetraacetic acid) was irrigated onto the soil at a rate of 1 g per kg of soil. Drainage water, soil, and plants were analyzed for three toxic heavy metals (Cd, Ni, Pb) and four essential heavy metals (Cu, Fe, Mn, Zn). Without EDTA, concentrations of the seven heavy metals in the leachate from columns with or without plants were low or below detection limits. With or without plants, the EDTA mobilized all heavy metals and increased their concentration in drainage water. Without plants, the concentrations of Cd, Cu, Fe, Pb, and Zn in the leachate from columns with EDTA were above drinking-water standards. (There is no drinking-water standard for Ni.) The presence of poplar plants in the soil reduced the concentrations of Cu, Fe, and Zn in the leachate so it fell within drinking-water standards. Concentrations of Cd and Pb in the leachate remained above drinking-water standards with or without plants. At harvest (124 days after the EDTA application), total concentration of each heavy metal in the soil at different depths in the columns with EDTA was similar to that in the columns without EDTA. The chelate did not affect the concentration of heavy metals in the roots, stems, or leaves. However, the wood, which contains the xylem, from plants grown with EDTA had a higher concentration of Ni and Pb than did wood from plants grown with no EDTA. The results showed that heavy metals in soil with sludge treated with EDTA could contaminate ground water, even in the presence of plant roots. (This research is part of the dissertation of M.S. Liphadzi, who was supported by a Fulbright Fellowship.)

Although carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are well known to have a strong affinity to various heavy metals in aqueous solution, little research has been dedicated to exploit their use in fixed-bed water treatment systems (e.g., trickling filters). In this work, batch sorption and fixed-bed experiments were conducted to examine the ability of functionalized multi-walled CNTs as filter media to remove two heavy metal ions (Pb2+ and Cu2+) from infiltrating water. Batch sorption experiments confirmed the strong sorption affinity of the CNTs for Pb2+ and Cu2+ in both single and dual metal solution systems. In addition, sonication-promoted dispersion of the CNT particles enhanced their heavy metal sorption capacity by 23.9-32.2%. For column experiments, laboratory-scale fixed-bed columns were packed with...

Utilization of poultry litter as a precursor material to manufacture activated carbon for treating heavy metal-contaminated water is a value-added strategy for recycling the organic waste. Batch adsorption experiments were conducted to investigate kinetics, isotherms, and capacity of poultry litter-based activated carbon for removing heavy metal ions in water. It was revealed that poultry litter-based activated carbon possessed significantly higher adsorption affinity and capacity for heavy metals than commercial activated carbons derived from bituminous coal and coconut shell. Adsorption of metal ions onto poultry litter-based carbon was rapid and followed Sigmoidal Chapman patterns as a function of contact time. Adsorption isotherms could be described by different models such as Langmuir...

Untreated textile wastewater is a typical source of heavy metal pollution in aquatic ecosystems. In this study, the use of algae and duckweed ponds as post-treatment for textile wastewater has been evaluated under the hypothesis that differing conditions such as pH, redox potential and dissolved oxygen in these ponds would lead to different heavy metal removal efficiencies. Two lab-scale systems each consisting of three ponds in series and seeded with algae (natural colonisation) and duckweed (Lemna minor), respectively, have been operated at a hydraulic retention time of 7 days and under two different metal loading rates and light regimes (16/8h light/darkness and 24h light). Cr removal rates were 94% for the duckweed ponds and 98% for the algal ponds, indifferently of the metal loading r...

To fully exploit the environmental benefits of the biogas process, the digestate should be recycled as biofertiliser to agriculture. This practice can however be jeopardized by the presence of unwanted compounds such as heavy metals in the digestate. By using two-stage digestion, where the first stage includes hydrolysis/acidification and liquefaction of the substrate, heavy metals can be transferred to the leachate. From the leachate, metals can then be removed by adsorption. In this study, up to 70% of the Ni, 40% of the Zn and 25% of the Cd present in maize was removed when the leachate from hydrolysis was circulated over a macroporous polyacrylamide column for 6 days. For Cu and Pb, the mobilization in the hydrolytic stage was lower which resulted in a low removal. A more efficient two-stage process with improved substrate hydrolysis would give lower pH and/or longer periods with low pH in the hydrolytic stage. This is likely to increase metal mobilisation, and would open up for an excellent opportunity of heavy metal removal. PMID:18359995

The presence of heavy metals in the environment is major concern due to their toxicity. Contamination of heavy metals in water supplies has steadily increased over the last years as a result of over population and expansion of industrial activities. A strong cation-exchange resin, Amberlite IR 120 and a natural zeolite, dolomite were used for the removal of lead(II) and cadmium(II). The optimum conditions were determined in a batch system as concentration range was between 5 and 100 mg/L, pH range between 1 and 8, contact time between 5 and 90 min, and the amount of adsorbent was from 0.1 to 1g. A constant stirring speed, 2000 rpm, was chosen during all of the experiments. The optimum conditions were found to be a concentration of 20 mg/L, pH of 5, contact time of 60 min and 0.5 g of adsorbent. Also, for investigation of exchange equilibria different amounts of ion exchange resin and dolomite were contacted with a fixed volume and concentration of a heavy metal bearing solutions. Sorption data have been interpreted in terms of Langmuir and Freundlich equations. The effect of adsorption temperature on the heavy metals adsorption onto dolomite was investigated at three different temperatures (20, 40 and 60 degrees C). Thermodynamic parameters were calculated. The results obtained show that the Amberlite IR 120 strong cation-exchange resin and dolomite performed well for the removal of these heavy metals. As a low cost adsorbent, dolomite can preferable for removal of heavy metals from wastewaters. PMID:17335969

Chelating cation exchange resins with iminodiacetic acid group (Lewatit TP 207 and Amberlite IRC 748) were tested for the removal of heavy metals in a drinking water treatment plant. The pilot scale filtration experiments were conducted by varying the operating conditions, such as flow rate and feed concentrations. Heavy metal concentrations (nickel, lead, cadmium, zinc) in the feed were adjusted between 20 and 200 {mu}g/L. Different methods for regeneration and conditioning of the resins were developed and investigated. Finally the ion exchange resins were tested according to German health regulations for ion exchangers in drinking water treatment. (orig.)

Pollutants, especially heavy metals like cadmium, Chromium, lead and mercury, play a significant role in causing various water-borne diseases to humans. This study evaluates the sorption properties of bioactive constituents of Moringa oleifera seeds for decontamination of cadmium at laboratory scale. The performance of the bioactive constituent extracted by salt extraction method was enhanced by process optimization with various concentration of bioactive dosages, agitation speed, contact time, pH and heavy metal concentrations. Statistical optimization was carried out for evaluating the polynomial regression model through effect of linear, quadratic and interaction of the factors. The maximum removal of cadmium was 72% by using 0.2 g/l of bioactive dosage. PMID:19025007

The objective of this project is to design and develop a physico- chemical treatment process for the removal of uranium and heavy metals from contaminated soil to achieve target contamination levels below 35 pCi/g of soil and a target for non-radioactive heavy metals below concentration levels permissible for release of the soil. Ex- situ pilot-scale soil decontamination and leachate treatment test using Chalk River Chemical Pit soil are nearing completion. Soil decontamination tests using Fernald Incinerator Area soil originally scheduled for February 1995 was postponed to May 1995 as result of unexpected delays in the preparation of two drums of soils.

The purpose of this report is to describe the current state of knowledge regarding the sources and quantities of heavy metal emissions, their transport and fate, their potential health and environmental effects, and strategies to control them. The approach is to review the literature on this topic and to consult with experts in the field. Ongoing research activities and research needs are discussed. Estimates of global anthropogenic and natural emissions indicate that anthropogenic emissions are responsible for most of the heavy metals released into the atmosphere and that industrial activities have had a significant impact on the global cycling of trace metals. The largest anthropogenic sources of trace metals are coal combustion and the nonferrous metal industry. Atmospheric deposition is an important pathway by which trace metals enter the environment. Atmospheric deposition varies according to the solubility of the element and the length of time it resides in the atmosphere. Evidence suggests that deposition is influenced by other chemicals in the atmosphere, such as ozone and sulfur dioxide. Trace metals also enter the environment through leaching. Existing emissions-control technologies such as electrostatic precipitators, baghouses, and scrubbers are designed to remove other particulates from the flue gas of coal-fired power plants and are only partially effective at removing heavy metals. Emerging technologies such as flue gas desulfurization, lignite coke, and fluidized bed combustion could further reduce emissions. 108 refs.

The adsorption behavior of natural Jordanian zeolites with respect to Cd(2 + ), Cu(2 + ), Pb(2 + ), and Zn(2 + ) was studied in order to consider its application to purity metal finishing drinking and waste water samples under different conditions such as zeolite particle size, ionic strength and initial metal ion concentration. In the present work, a new method was developed to remove the heavy metal by using a glass column as the one that used in column chromatography and to make a comparative between the batch experiment and column experiment by using natural Jordanian zeolite as adsorbent and some heavy metals as adsorbate. The column method was used using different metal ions concentrations ranged from 5 to 20 mg/L with average particle size of zeolite ranged between 90 and 350 mum, and ionic strength ranged from 0.01 to 0.05. Atomic absorption spectrometry was used for analysis of these heavy metal ions, the results obtained in this study indicated that zeolitic tuff is an efficient ion exchanger for removing heavy metals, in particular the fine particle sizes of zeolite at pH 6, whereas, no clear effect of low ionic strength values is noticed on the removal process. Equilibrium modeling of the removal showed that the adsorption of Cd(2 + ), Cu(2 + ), Pb(2 + ), and Zn(2 + ) were fitted to Langmuir, Freundlich and Dubinin-Kaganer-Radushkevich (DKR). The sorption energy E determined in the DKR equation (9.129, 10.000, 10.541, and 11.180 kJ/mol for Zn(2 + ), Cu(2 + ), Cd(2 + ) and Pb(2 + ) respectively) which revealed the nature of the ion-exchange mechanism. PMID:18830802

Surfactant enhanced soil washing (SESW) was applied to an industrial contaminated soil. A preliminary characterization of the soil regarding the alkaline-earth metals, Na, K, Ca and Mg took values of 2866, 2036, 2783 and 4149 mg/kg. The heavy metals As, Cd, Cu, Pb, Ni and Zn, had values of 4019, 14, 35582, 70, 2603, and 261 mg/kg, respectively. When using different surfactants, high removal of Cu, Ni and Zn were found, and medium removals for Pb, As and Cd. In the case of these three metals, tap water removed more than the surfactant solutions, except for the case of As.There were surfactants with average removals (this is, the removal for all the metals studied) of 67.1% (Tween 80), 64.9% (Surfacpol 14104) and 61.2% (Emulgin W600). There were exceptional removals using Texapon N-40 (83.2%, 82.8% and 86.6% for Cu, Ni and Zn), Tween 80 (85.9, 85.4 and 81.5 for Cd, Zn and Cu), Polafix CAPB (79%, 83.2% and 49.7% for Ni, Zn and As). The worst results were obtained with POLAFIX LO with a global removal of 45%, well below of the average removal with tap water (50.2%).All removal efficiencies are reported for a one step washing using 0.5% surfactant solutions, except for the case of mezquite gum, where a 0.1% solution was employed.

Batch soil washing experiments were performed to evaluate the feasibility of using surfactin from Bacillus subtilis, a lipopeptide biosurfactant, for the removal of heavy metals from a contaminated soil and sediments. The soil contained high levels of metals and hydrocarbons (890 mg/kg of zinc, 420 mg/kg of copper, and 12.6% oil and grease), and the sediments contained 110 mg/kg of copper and 3,300 mg/kg of zinc. The contaminated soil was spiked to increase the level of copper, zinc, and cadmium to 550, 1,200, and 2,000 mg/kg, respectively. Water alone removed minimal amounts of copper and zinc (less than 1%). Results showed that 0.25% surfactin/1% NaOH could remove 25% of the copper and 6% of the zinc from the soil and 15% of the copper and 6% of the zinc from the sediments. A series of five washings of the soil with 0.25% surfactin (1% NaOH) was able to remove 70% of the copper and 22% of the zinc. The technique of ultrafiltration and the measurement of octanol-water partitioning and {zeta}-potential were used to determine the mechanism of metal removal by surfactin. It was indicated that surfactin was able to remove the metals by sorption at the soil interphase and metal complexation, followed by desorption of the metal through interfacial tension lowering and fluid forces and finally complexation of the metal with the micelles.

We report the simultaneous adsorption of acid blue 25 dye (AB25) and heavy metals (Zn^2^+, Ni^2^+ and Cd^2^+) on a low-cost activated carbon, whose adsorption properties have been improved via a surface chemistry modification using a calcium solution extracted from egg shell wastes. Specifically, we have studied the removal performance of this adsorbent using the binary aqueous systems: AB25-Cd^2^+, AB25-Ni^2^+ and AB25-Zn^2^+. Multi-component kinetic and equilibrium experiments have been performed and used to identify and characterize the synergic adsorption in the simultaneous removal of these pollutants. Our results show that the presence of AB25 significantly favors the removal of heavy metals and may increase the adsorption capacities up to six times with respect to the results obtain...

Fly ashes from Municipal Solid Waste (MSW), straw (ST) and co-combustion of wood (CW) are here analyzed with the intent of reusing them. Two techniques are assessed, a remediation technique and a solidification/stabilization one. The removal of heavy metals from fly ashes through the electrodialytic process (EDR) has been tried out before. The goal of removing heavy metals has always been the reuse of fly ash, for instance in agricultural fields (BEK). The best removal rates are here summarized and some new results have been added. MSW fly ashes are still too hazardous after treatment to even consider application to the soil. ST ash is the only residue that gets concentrations low enough to be reused, but its fertilizing value might be questioned. An alternative reuse for the three ashes i...

The feasibility of using zerovalent silicon (Si0) as a novel reductant to remove chlorinated compounds and heavy metals in contaminated sites was investigated. The kinetics and degradation mechanism of carbon tetrachloride (CT) by Si0 were also examined. Results showed that zerovalent silicon could effectively dechlorinate the chlorinated compounds. A nearly complete dechlorination of CT by Si0 was obtained within 14 h. The produced concentrations of chloroform (CF) accounted for 71-88% loss of CT, showing that reductive dechlorination is the major degradation pathway for the degradation of chlorinated hydrocarbons by Si0. The degradation followed pseudo first-order kinetics and the normalized surface reaction rate constant (k(sa)) for CT dechlorination ranged between 0.0342 and 0.0454 L m(-2) h(-1) when CT concentrations were in the range of 3-20 microM. A linear relationship between the k(sa) and pH value was also established. In addition, zerovalent silicon has a high capability in the removal of heavy metals. 83% of Cr(VI) was removed by 0.5g Si0 within 5 h, which is higher than that by Fe0. The removal efficiency of divalent metal ions by Si0 followed the order of Cu(II) > Pb(II) > Ni(II). This indicates that zerovalent silicon is an alternative reductant and can undergo coupled reduction of heavy metals and chlorinated hydrocarbons in contaminated groundwater. PMID:15566191

The passive removal of commonly used reactive dye and two heavy metals, from aqueous solutions by inexpensive biomaterial, yeast Rhodotorula muciloginosa biomass, termed biosorption, was studied with respect to pH, initial dye concentration and initial metal ion concentration. The biomass exhibited maximum dye and chromium(VI) uptake at pH 5 and pH 6 for nickel(II) in media containing 50 mg/L heavy metal and 50 mg/L remazol blue. It was found that the highest chromium(VI) removal yields measured were 31.3% for 49.0 mg/l initial chromium(VI) concentrations. The nickel(II) removal yield was 32.5% for 22.3 mg/L. Higher R. Blue removal yields were obtained, such as 77.1% for 117.5 mg/L. The maximum dye biosorption yield was investigated in medium with a constant dye (approximately 50 mg/L) and increasing heavy metal concentration. In the medium with 48.8, 103.8 and 151.8 mg/L chromium(VI) and constant dye concentration, the maximum chromium(VI) biosorption was 7.4, 9.3 and 17.1%, whereas the maximum dye biosorption was 61.6, 56.6 and 55.9%. The maximum nickel(II) biosorptions in the medium with dye were 38.1, 22.1 and 8.8% at 23.7, 37.7 and 60.1 mg/L nickel(II) concentrations. In these media, dye biosorptions were 93.9, 86.4 and 93.3%, respectively. PMID:22258677

Many industrial and waste disposal practices unconsciously pollute the environment by adding excess heavy metals to it. Although reports show an inconsistency in the toxic levels of heavy metals such as zinc, nickel, cadmium, mercury and silvery between microbial groups, the toxic effects of the metals on microorganisms have been well documented. Little is known of the differential effects these metals have on coliform K. pneumoniae and K. oxytoca. These bacteria are widely recognized as antibiotic resistant opportunistic pathogens. Besides, they are able to fix dinitrogen. In this study, these metals were found to affect these organisms in a variety of concentrations. Such effect could affect the total coliform count in water, dinitrogen fixation, and removable of nitrate in soil and water.

The acid mine drainage (AMD) discharged from the Hejiacun uranium mine in central Hunan (China) was sampled and analyzed using ICP-MS techniques. The analyzing results show that the AMD is characterized by the major ions FeTotal, Mn, Al and Si, and is concentrated with heavy metals and metalloids including Cd, Co, Ni, Zn, U, Cu, Pb, Tl, V, Cr, Se, As and Sb. During the AMD flowing downstream, the dissolved heavy metals were removed from the AMD waters through adsorption onto and co-precipitation with metal-oxhydroxides coated on the streambed. Among these metals, Cd, Co, Ni, Zn, U, Cu, Pb and Tl are negatively correlated to pH values, and positively correlated to major ions Fe, Al, Si, Mn, Mg, Ca and K. The metals/metalloids V, Cr, Se, As and Sb are conservative in the AMD solution, and ne...

The removal of heavy metals, such as As, Ni, Zn, Cd and Pb, onto limestone, starfish, black shale and concrete from wastewater was studied. These materials, with a high capacity for heavy metals, can be obtained and employed as alternative low-cost substitutes. Various parameters, such as the neutralization capacity, changes in pH, redox potential and electric conductivity as a function of time, were quantified. Of the studied treatment agents, concrete showed high neutralization efficiency for acid mine drainage and maintained a pH value above 11. The adsorption of heavy metals was influenced by the compositions of the treatment agents. The experimental results of leaching revealed no significant follow-up release from any of the treatment agents. The results suggest that concrete could b...

Fly ash is an airborne material which is considered hazardous waste due to its enrichment on heavy metals. Depending on the waste from which they are originated, fly ash may be further valorised, e.g. as soil amendment or concrete and ceramics adjuvant, or landfilled, when defined as hazardous material. In any case, heavy metal content has to be decreased either for fly ash valorisation or for complying with landfill criteria. The electrodialytic (EDR) process is a remediation technique based on the principle of electrokinetics and dialysis, having the aim to remove heavy metals from contaminated solid media. EDR was here applied to fly ashes from the combustion of straw (ST), from the incineration of municipal solid waste (DK and PT) and from the co-combustion of wood (CW). A statistical ...

Background, aim, and scope Zinc is an essential micronutrient element but its concentrations found in contaminated soils frequently exceed those required by the plant and soil organisms, and thus create danger to animal and human health. Phytoremediation is a technique, often employed in remediation of contaminated soils, which aims to remove heavy metals or other contaminants from soils or waters using plants. Arabidopsis (A.) halleri ssp. gemmifera is a plant recently found to be grown vigorously in heavy metal contaminated areas of Japan and it contained remarkably high amount of heavy metals in its shoots. However, the magnitude of Zn accumulation and tolerance in A. halleri ssp. gemmifera need to be investigated for its use as a phytoremediation plant. Materials and methods A. halleri...

Sediments of harbors and freshwaters are regularly dredged for various reasons: maintenance of navigational depths, recovery of recreational locations, and even environmental recovery. In the past, sediments dredged from harbors have been dumped at sea, however, environmental regulations now, in many cases, prohibit this due to contamination by primarily heavy metals and TBT. Similarly, sediments of fresh waters could potentially be used as soil amendment material for poor agricultural soils utilizing their often high content of phosphate and nitrogen. However, again, heavy metal contamination often hinders this usage. Hence, for both types of sediments, expensive deposition at hazardous waste landfills is required. Electrodialysis is presently being developed as an alternative method for treatment of such contaminated sediments. Heavy metals are removed by treating the sediments in suspension with an electric DC field, while ion-exchange membranes constitute a barrier between the sediment being treated and the concentrate liquid in which the contaminants are collected.

The selectivity sequence and removal of coexistent heavy metals (namely As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni and Zn) in synthetic urban stormwater runoff were investigated by adsorption onto a porous iron sorbent (namely P1) and its mixtures with zeolite and crystal gravel, respectively (namely P2, P3, and P4). A batch method was employed to simulate the sorption processes. The geochemical model PHREEQC was used to calculate the metals' species and saturation data for elucidating the sorption data. The equilibrium data demonstrated a good fit with the Freundlich model and showed affinity in the orders: Cd>Zn>Ni>Cu>As>Cr (sorbents P1, P3 and P4) and Cd>Zn>Ni>As>Cu>Cr (sorbent P2). In addition to this, Calculated Distribution Coefficient (Kd) values were used to compare the overall heavy metal removal efficie...

A comparative evaluation of bioaccumulation and biosorption of Cu (II) and Pb (II) ions by algal cells of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii was conducted in single and binary metal systems. Experiments were performed in solutions containing 5 x 10^-^7 M of free metal at 30 ^oC and pH 6. Algal cells were used in the concentration of 0.2 g/L. Both processes tend to be more important as contact time between heavy metals and algal cells increases. Under studied conditions, dead cells showed higher removal efficiency than living cells for both metal ions. Removal efficiency of Pb increases from 8% to 40% when comparing the results obtained by living cells and dead cells. For Cu (II) ions, the removal efficiency of dead cells was about 2 times higher than living cells (55% vs. 28%). Living cells showed ...

Heavy metals accumulated in slurry of dual alkali flue gas desulfurization (FGD) present a significant catalysis to SO3(2-) oxidation, resulting in a waste of effective components for desulfurization. Na2S was adopted to precipitate heavy metal ions in FGD slurry, and the oxidation rate of SO3(2-) was obtained under different concentrations of heavy metal ions, to reveal the inhibition effect of Na2S on SO3(2-) oxidation catalyzed by heavy metal ions. Mn2+ showed a remarkable catalysis to SO3(-2) oxidation, as the initial oxidation rate of SO3(2-) was tripled to 0.65 mmol/(L x min) by adding 1.0 mmol/L Mn2+ into the slurry. SO3(2-) was catalytically oxidized rapidly with the reaction order 0.169 of Mn2+ within first 60 minutes, so it is of great importance to control the concentration of Mn2+ to inhibit SO3(2-) oxidation. At initial pH value of 6.50-8.50, Na2S removed heavy metal ions effectively from FGD slurry. Higher pH value favored the removal of heavy metal ions. The removal efficiencies of Mn2+, Zn2+, Ni2+ and Cd2+ were 91.0%, 88.1%, 85.5%, and above 99.9% respectively under the conditions of initial pH value 8.50 and Na2S dosage 240.0 mg/L. Mn2+ could be used as an indicator for the concentration of the heavy metal ions in the slurry. As the Mn2+ concentration decreased from 1.0 mmol/L to 5.0 x 10(-3) mmol/L by adding Na2S, the initial oxidation rate of SO3(2-) decreased by 64.6% to 0.23 mmol/(L x min). The desulfurization efficiencies increase 3.8%-5.1% by adding Na2S in a pilot scale setup. It comes to conclusion that heavy metal ions precipitation by adding Na2S with an indicator of Mn2+ to inhibit catalytic oxidation of SO3(2-) is feasible to reduce the consumption of desulfurizer in FGD slurry. PMID:20358813

Titanium dioxide (TiO{sub 2}) colloidal particles ({approximately}45{angstrom}) whose surfaces were modified with chelating agents for photocatalytic removal of heavy-metal ions and their subsequent reduction to metallic form were investigated. Experiments were performed on nanoparticle TiO{sub 2} colloids derivatized with bidentate and tridentate ligands (thiolactic acid [TLA], cysteine, and alanine [ALA]) in batch mode in a photoreactor with 254nm light. We used catalysts designed and synthesized for selective and efficient removal of Pb and Cu with and without added hole scavenger (methanol). Parallel experiments also have been carried out in the dark to study metal ion adsorption properties. Solutions have been filtered to remove TiO{sub 2}, and metal particulates. Both the native solution and the metal deposited on the nanocrystalline TiO{sub 2} particles were analyzed. Results demonstrate that for the case of lead, the most effective TiO{sub 2} surface modifier was TLA (>99% Pb(II) removed from solution). Experiments performed to study Cn removal using TiO{sub 2} colloids modified with alanine showed that copper ions were effectively removed and reduced to metallic form in the presence of methanol.

Areca nut shell, an agricultural solid waste by-product, has been studied for the removal of heavy metals Cr(VI) and Pb(II) from aqueous solution. Parameters, such as equilibrium time, effect of initial metal ion concentration, effect of pH on the removal, were analyzed. An initial pH of 4.0 was found most favourable for Cr(VI) removal and 5.0 for Pb(II) removal. Two theoretical isotherm models, namely Langmuir and Freundlich, were analyzed for the applicability of the experimental data. The Langmuir adsorption capacity (Q0) was calculated. The results of thermodynamic parameters suggest the exothermic nature of the adsorption. The desorption studies were carried out using dilute hydrochloric acid. Maximum desorption of 88% for Cr(VI) and 91% for Pb(II) were achieved. Areca nut shell waste, the low cost adsorbent is found to be effective in the removal of Cr(VI) and Pb(II) ions, and hence it can be applied for the removal of heavy metals from industrial wastewater. PMID:21114170

The precipitation of chromium(III), copper(II), manganese(II) and zinc(II) by biogenic hydrogen sulfide generated by sulfate-reducing bacteria, Desulfovibrio sp., and the degradation of total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) in the presence of heavy metal by Pseudomonas aeruginosa AT18 have been carried out. An anaerobic stirred tank reactor was used to generate hydrogen sulfide with Desulfovibrio sp. culture and the precipitation of more than 95% of each metal was achieved in 24 h (metal solutions contained: 60, 49, 50 and 80 mg L(-1) of chromium, copper, manganese and zinc sulfates). A stirred tank reactor with P. aeruginosa AT18, in the presence of the heavy metal solution and 2% (v/v) of petroleum, led to the degradation of 60% of the total petroleum hydrocarbons and the removal of Cr(III) 99%, Cu(II) 93%, Zn(II) 46% and Mn(II) 88% in the medium through biosorption phenomena. These results enabled the development of an integrated system in which the two processes were combined. The overall aim of the study was achieved, with 84% of TPH degraded and all of the metals completely removed. Work is currently underway aimed at improving this system (decrease in operation time, culture of P. aeruginosa in anaerobic conditions) in an effort to apply this process in the bioremediation of natural media contaminated with heavy metals and petroleum. PMID:20667656

Alternative treatment methodology of solid waste disposal sites was investigated in an effort to find a reliable, and cost-effective, means of leachate or impacted groundwater. In particular, the investigation dealt with New Brunswick sphagnum peat moss as an agent capable of removing heavy metals, organics and nutrients. Initially, bench-scale trials were designed to determine optimum operating conditions for full-scale systems. Results of the bench-scale trial showed that increasing the hydraulic loading of the bio-filter did not significantly affect the removal efficiency for most contaminant parameters. On the other hand, incremental reduction of bed depth from 120 cm to 30 cm resulted in a reduction in the removal efficiency of the biochemical oxygen demand, chemical oxygen demand, and dissolved organic carbon. Adjusting the influent to the bio-filter to pH 9 improved removal efficiency, particularly for heavy metals. It was found that the peat bio-filters eventually became ineffective either as a result of bio-fouling or saturation of the adsorption sites with heavy metals. Investigation of options for disposing of the spent peat is in progress.

Ashes from monoincineration of sewage sludge suggest themselves as an ideal base for inorganic fertiliser production due to their relatively high phosphorus (P)-content. However, previously they need to be detoxified by reducing their heavy metal content. The core process considered in this paper consists of three steps: mixing of the ashes with suitable chlorine-containing additives, granulation of the mixture and thermochemical treatment in a rotary kiln. Here relevant heavy metal compounds are first transformed into volatile species with the help of the additives and then evaporated from the granules. In this study two chemically different ashes and their mixture were agglomerated to two different granulate types, briquettes and rolled pellets. The resulting six different materials were subjected to thermal treatment at different temperatures. The heavy metals examined were Cu and Zn due to their strong dependence on treatment conditions and their relevance concerning thermal treatment of sewage sludge ashes. Besides, the behaviour of Cl and K was monitored and evaluated. The experiments showed that ash type and temperature are more influential on Cl and heavy metal chemistry than granulate type. Temperature is a primary variable for controlling removal in both cases. Cu removal was less dependent on both ash and granulate type than Zn. The Cl utilization was more effective for Cu than for Zn. Depending on the treatment conditions some K could be retained, whereas always all P remained in the treated material. This satisfies the requirement for complete P recycling. PMID:20418087

In coal-fired boilers, the wet limestone-gypsum based flue gas desulfurization (FGD) plants produce large volumes of wastewater containing dissolved salts and heavy metals. Before discharging these wastes to the environment, the heavy metals must be removed. One of the preferred methods for removal of heavy metals is by co-precipitation of hydroxides and sulfides of heavy metals, followed by coagulation and flocculation techniques. As a post-treatment of the resulting wastewater stream, crossflow microfiltration is being considered as a cost effective and environmentally acceptable method. However, membrane `fouling` and `concentration polarization` in such applications remain serious problems and result in flux decline of product during filtration. In this exploratory research, we investigated a novel concept: flow oscillation as a means of controlling fouling and concentration polarization. The treatment of FGD plants wastewater (simulated) by enhancing microfiltration fluxes was studied here as an example to demonstrate the oscillatory flow system in combating concentration polarization and membrane fouling in crossflow filtration. Microfiltration experiments were conducted in a tubular membrane module. From limited experimental data, it was found that flow oscillation increases the transmembrane flux when compared with the non-oscillatory flow condition. A mathematical model has been developed to evaluate the performance of a tubular membrane module under oscillatory flow condition. Results are presented for both hydrodynamics and transmembrane fluxes for such factors as amplitudes and frequencies of oscillatory flow, membrane permeability, and operating transmembrane pressure.

Abstract in english The contamination of ecosystems with heavy metals is an important issue in current world and remediation technologies should be in according to environmental sustainability concept. Bioemulsifier are promising agents to be used in metal removal and could be effective to many applications in environmental industries. The aims of this work was screening the potential production of bioemulsifier by microorganisms isolated from an oil contaminated mangrove, and evaluate cadmi (more) um and zinc removal potential of those strains from a hazardous industrial residue. From that, bioemulsifier-producing bacteria were isolated from urban mangrove sediments. Four isolates were identified as Microbacterium sp by 16S rRNA analysis and were able to reduce up to 53.3% of culture medium surface tension (TS) when using glucose as carbon and energy source and 20.2% when sucrose was used. Suspensions containing bioemulsifier produced by Microbacterium sp. strains show to be able to remove cadmium and zinc from contaminated industrial residue, and its ability varied according carbon source. Significant differences in metal removal were observed by all strains depending on the carbon source. When glucose was used, Cd and Zn removal varied from 17 to 41%, and 14 to 68%, respectively. However, when sucrose was used it was observed only 4 to a maximum of 15% of Cd removal, and 4 to 17% of Zn removal. When the same tests were performed after ethanol precipitation, the results were different: the percentages of removal of Zn (7-27%) and Cd (14-32%) were higher from sucrose cultures. This is the first report of heavy metals removal by bioemulsifier from Microbacterium sp.

Uptake and distribution of Cd, Pb and Zn by 19 wetland plant species were investigated with experiments in small-scale plot constructed wetlands, into which artificial wastewater dosed with Cd, Pb and Zn at concentrations of 0.5, 2.0 and 5.0mgl(-1) was irrigated. The results showed that the removal efficiency of Cd, Pb and Zn from the wastewater were more than 90%. Generally, there were tens differences among the 19 plant species in the concentrations and quantity accumulations of the heavy metals in aboveground part, underground part and whole plants. The distribution ratios into aboveground parts for the metals absorbed by plants varied also largely from about 30% to about 90%. All the plants accumulated, in one harvest, 19.85% of Cd, 22.55% of Pb and 23.75% of Zn that were added into the wastewater. Four plant species, e.g. Alternanthera philoxeroides, Zizania latifolia, Echinochloa crus-galli and Polygonum hydropiper, accumulated high amounts of Cd, Pb and Zn. Monochoria vaginalis was capable for accumulating Cd and Pb, Isachne globosa for Cd and Zn, and Digitaria sanguinalis and Fimbristylis miliacea for Zn. The results indicated that the plants, in constructed wetland for the treatment of wastewater polluted by heavy metals, can play important roles for removal of heavy metals through phytoextraction. Selection of plant species for use in constructed wetland will influence considerably removal efficiency and the function duration of the wetland. PMID:17353090

The present study investigated the effects of heavy metals (Ni, Zn, Cd, Cu, and Pb) toxicity on the performance of 18 MLD activated sludge process-based sewage treatment plant (STP) during celebration of Holi (festival of colors in India). The composite sampling (n?=?32) was carried out during the entire study period. The findings show a significant decrease in chemical oxygen demand removal efficiency (20%) of activated sludge system, after receiving the heavy metals laden wastewater. A significant reduction of 40% and 60% were observed in MLVSS/MLSS ratio and specific oxygen uptake rate, which eventually led to a substantial decrease in biomass growth yield (from 0.54 to 0.17). The toxic effect of metals ions was also observed on protozoan population. Out of the 12 mixed liquor species recorded, only two ciliates species of Vorticella and Epistylis exhibited the greater tolerance against heavy metals toxicity. Furthermore, activated sludge shows the highest metal adsorption affinity for Cu, followed by Zn, Pb, Ni, and Cd (Cu?>?Zn?>?Pb?>?Ni?>?Cd). Finally, this study proves the robustness of activated sludge system against the sudden increase in heavy metal toxicity since it recovered the earlier good quality performance within 5 days. PMID:22270594

The precipitation of chromium(III), copper(II), manganese(II) and zinc(II) by biogenic hydrogen sulfide generated by sulfate-reducing bacteria, Desulfovibrio sp., and the degradation of total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) in the presence of heavy metal by Pseudomonas aeruginosa AT18 have been carried out. An anaerobic stirred tank reactor was used to generate hydrogen sulfide with Desulfovibrio sp. culture and the precipitation of more than 95% of each metal was achieved in 24h (metal solutions contained: 60, 49, 50 and 80mgL^-^1 of chromium, copper, manganese and zinc sulfates). A stirred tank reactor with P. aeruginosa AT18, in the presence of the heavy metal solution and 2% (v/v) of petroleum, led to the degradation of 60% of the total petroleum hydrocarbons and the removal of Cr(III) 99...

Chitin/cellulose blend membranes were successfully prepared in 7wt% NaOH/12wt% urea aqueous solution via a freezing/thawing method to dissolve chitin, and then by coagulating with 5wt% Na2SO4 to regenerate. The morphology and structure of the resultant composite membranes were investigated by scanning electron microscope, thermogravimetry, X-ray diffraction and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The metal ions adsorption capacities of the membranes were determined by atomic absorption spectroscopy. The results revealed that the composite membranes exhibited efficient removing of heavy metal ions (mercury, copper and lead) from aqueous solution, as a result of their microporous structure, large surface area and affinity on metal ions. The uptake capacity of the heavy metal ions on chi...

Fundamental aspects of the removal of heavy metals from aqueous streams under conditions of competition among the various species have been studied between pH 3 and 9 on Spherosil XO75LS, ordered mesoporous MCM-41 and MCF silicas, as well as a MCF sample grafted with (3-aminopropyl)methoxydimethylsilane (AMPS-MCF). Cd(II), Co(II), Pb(II), or Sr(II) nitrate solutions were used to determine the percentage of metal uptake by each solid at 298K as a function of the pH of the equilibrium solution, at an initial metal concentration of 0.0001molL-1 and the ionic strength being fixed with 0.01molL-1 NaNO3. Almost complete retention of the heavy metals on the four solid samples was observed, with the process beginning at pH values smaller than those marking the onset of "bulk" precipitation of a gi...

The present study reported synthesis of a new inorganic exchanger, i.e., zirconium hydrogen monothiophosphate [Zr(HPO3S)2, denoted ZrPS] and its selective sorption toward Pb(II), Cd(II) and Zn(II) ions. ZrPS sorption toward all the three metals is dependent upon solution pH due to the ion-exchange nature. As compared to another inorganic exchanger zirconium phosphate [Zr(HPO4)2, denoted ZrP], ZrPS exhibits highly selective sorption toward these toxic metals from the background of calcium ions at great levels. Such sorption preference is mainly attributed to the presence of -SH group in ZrPS, as further demonstrated by FT-IR analysis and XPS study. Moreover, ZrPS particles preloaded with heavy metals could be efficiently regenerated with 6M HCl for multiple use without any noticeable capacity loss. All the experimental results indicated that ZrPS is a promising sorbent for enhanced heavy metals removal from contaminated water. PMID:19493618

Abstract in english Cation exchange capabilities of a Brazilian natural zeolite, identified as scolecite, were evaluated for application in wastewater control. We investigated the process of sorption of chromium(III), nickel(II), cadmium(II) and manganese(II) in synthetic aqueous effluents, including adsorption isotherms of single-metal solutions. The natural zeolite showed the ability to take up the tested heavy metals in the order Cr(III) > Cd(II) > Ni(II) > Mn(II), and this could be relat (more) ed to the valence and the hydration radius of the metal cations. The influence of temperature (25, 40 and 60 ºC) and initial pH value (from 4 to 6) was also evaluated. It was found that the adsorption increased substantially when the temperature was raised to 60 ºC and that maximum adsorption capacity was observed at pH 6. These results demonstrate that scolecite can be used for removal of heavy metals from aqueous effluents, under optimized conditions.

In the removal of sour gases, H/sub 2/S in particular, from CO-containing gaseous mixtures containing heavy metal carbonyls by scrubbing under pressure at temperatures of below 0/sup 0/C with a scrubbing medium, the scrubbing medium is regenerated by inter alia, being heated by means of heat exchangers. Such exchangers are normally fouled by precipitates of metal sulfides which owe their presence to the decomposition of the metal carbonyls to form reactive heavy metal which combines with sulfide ion. To avoid fouling of the heat exchangers, the CO partial pressure is increased during the heating of the loaded scrubbing medium, to above the partial pressure of the CO in equilibrium with the carbonyls in the scrubbing medium thereby preventing the decomposition of the carbonyls. 20 claims.

Three-dimensional electrodes such as are used in fixed-bed and fluidized bed electrolysis are suitable for purifying waste water containing heavy metals and for metal recovery from dilute solutions, and also open up new possibilities for electrochemical purification of waste gases. An account of the theoretical principles of the macrokinetics of these systems is followed by descriptions of waste-water purification process by fixed bed electrolysis, which is already in industrial use, of the rotating fixed-bed electrodes and of the state of the art of fluidized bed electrolysis for production of metals. An electrochemical absorption tower permits removal of chlorine and sulphur dioxide from waste gases.

We prepared novel Fe(3)O(4) magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) modified with 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APS) and copolymers of acrylic acid (AA) and crotonic acid (CA). The MNPs were characterized by transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, infra-red spectra and thermogravimetric analysis. We explored the ability of the MNPs for removing heavy metal ions (Cd(2+), Zn(2+), Pb(2+) and Cu(2+)) from aqueous solution. We investigated the adsorption capacity of Fe(3)O(4)@APS@AA-co-CA at different pH in solution and metal ion uptake capacity as a function of contact time and metal ion concentration. Moreover, adsorption isotherms, kinetics and thermodynamics were studied to understand the mechanism of the synthesized MNPs adsorbing metal ions. In addition, we evaluated the effect of background electrolytes on the adsorption. Furthermore, we explored desorption and reuse of MNPs. Fe(3)O(4)@APS@AA-co-CA MNPs are excellent for removal of heavy metal ions such as Cd(2+), Zn(2+), Pb(2+) and Cu(2+) from aqueous solution. Furthermore, the MNPs could efficiently remove the metal ions with high maximum adsorption capacity at pH 5.5 and could be used as a reusable adsorbent with convenient conditions. PMID:22209322

Electrodialytic removal of Cu, Zn, Pb and Cd from contaminated harbour sediment was made with the emphasis of testing the effectiveness of different desorbing agents: HCl, NaCl, citric acid, lactic acid, ammonium citrate and distilled water. Extraction experiments with the desorbing agents were made prior to the electrodialytic experiments. The extractions showed that HCl was most efficient for metal desorption, probably due to the low pH and complexation with chloride. The metals were not extracted by distilled water. However, in the electrodialytic experiments, the removal was high when using distilled water and the desorbing agents did generally not enhance the heavy metal removal compared to distilled water. The only exception was with lactic acid, where the Cu removal was 20% higher compared to the other desorbing agents. The removal was 48% Cu, 80% Zn, 96% Pb and 98% Cd, when using distilled water. Metal speciation with the different desorbing agents was simulated with the geochemical model Visual MINTEQ version 2.15. Variations in the Cl concentration were found to be of crucial importance since it influences the formation of metal chlorocomplexes, especially uncharged species. All the acidic desorbing agents were predicted to form mostly cationic species, which was in agreement with the removal direction in the electrodialytic remediation experiments.

It is important to study the flow behaviour through soil during electrokinetic extraction of contaminants to understand their removal mechanism. The flow through the expansive soil containing montmorillonite is monitored during laboratory electrokinetic extraction of heavy metal contaminants. The permeability of soil, which increases due to the presence of contaminants, is further enhanced during electrokinetic extraction of contaminants due to osmotic permeability. The variations in flow rates through the soil while the extracting fluid is changed to dilute acetic acid (used to control the increase of pH) and EDTA solution (used to desorb the metal ions from soil) are studied. The trends of removal of contaminants vis-a-vis the changes in the flow through the soil during different phases of electrokinetic extraction are established. Chromium ions are removed by flushing of water through the soil and increased osmotic flow is beneficial. Removal of iron ions is enhanced by induced osmotic flow and desorption of ions by electrokinetic processes. PMID:17276001

Sorption capacity of oyster mushroom (Pleurotus platypus), button mushroom (Agaricus bisporus) and milky mushroom (Calocybe indica) were evaluated on biosorption of heavy metals, viz. cadmium (II) and lead (II) from aqueous solutions. The optimum sorption conditions were studied for each metal separately. The desired pH of the aqueous solution was found to be 6.0 for the removal of cadmium (II) and 5.0 for removal of lead (II) for all the mushrooms. The percent removal of both the metals was found to increase with the increase in biosorbent dosage and contact time. The fitness of the biosorption data for Langmuir and Freundlich adsorption models was investigated. It was found that biosorption of cadmium (II) and lead (II) ions onto the biomass of the three mushrooms were better suitable to...

Mollusks are useful bioindicators of aquatic contamination. They are easy to identify and handle, are widely distributed, and are known to accumulate heavy metals. The authors evaluated the accumulation of heavy metals in snails at points both upstream and downstream from potential contaminant sources, indigenous snails (Elimia livescens) were collected from an upstream site and placed in plastic mesh cages in 6 sites in 3 watersheds on base, upstream and downstream of 3 potential contamination sources. At each site there were 3 cages containing 12 snails each. In a parallel laboratory study snails were placed in 6 jars in 3 different treatments. One treatment contained stream water taken from the same sites where the snails were collected. The other two treatments had the same stream water spiked with 2 different concentrations of metals. The higher concentration of metals reflected the level of each metal detected in surface water downstream of one of the potentially contaminated sites. The lower metal concentration jars were spiked with metals at 1/2 the concentrations used in the higher level treatment. The animals were left in the cages and the jars for 12 weeks. After being removed from the cages and jars the snails were freeze-dried, weighed whole, then dissected into shelf and organic tissue. Tissue and shell were separately analyzed for metal content. Water and sediment samples were collected in the beginning and end of the field study and also analyzed for heavy metals. The heavy metal analysis was done on an atomic absorption spectrophotometer. Fe, Mn, Pb and Ni have been analyzed. Initial results show that there are differences in the concentrations of the metals in the three watersheds. Also, there is a higher concentration of Fe and Mn in tissue compared to shell, and higher concentration of Pb in shell compared to tissue.

The most frequently applied technology for pollutant removal from flue gases of waste treatment plants is dry, quasi-dry, or wet scrubbing methods. The advantages of the dry or quasi-dry methods in terms of investment costs have to be compared with the drawbacks of relatively high concentrations of heavy metals or mercury in the offgas and in the waste products. The outgoing materials streams of the scrubbing units can be treated with various methods. The paper focuses on the removal of heavy metals using selective ion exchangers. (orig./CB) [Deutsch] Bei der Reinigung von Rauchgasen aus Verbrennungsanlagen sind prinzipiell trockene, quasitrockene oder nasse Verfahren verbreitet. Dem Investitionskostenvorteil der trockenen und quasitrockenen Einduesungsverfahren stehen die Nachteile der meist hoeheren Restkonzentrationen im Reingas und der hohen Reststoffmengen mit Schwermetall- oder Quecksilberkontaminationen gegenueber. Die Abstroeme der verschiedenen Waescher koennen nach mehreren Methoden behandelt werden. In diesem Aufsatz wird speziell die Entfernung von Schwermetallen mit Selektiv-Ionenaustauschern beschrieben. (orig./SR)

In this study, sequential interpenetrating polymer network (IPN) hydrogels based on poly(polyethylene glycol diacrylate) poly(PEGDA) and poly(methacrylic acid) (PMAA) were prepared with enhanced adsorption properties for heavy metal ion removal. The swelling behavior and mechanical property of the IPN hydrogels were characterized. It was found that swelling ratio increased, and mechanical strength decreased with the PMAA content in the IPN. The IPN hydrogels were used to remove heavy metal ions from aqueous solution under the non-competitive condition. The effects of pH values of the feed solution at the range of 3â??????5 and PMAA content in the IPN on the adsorption capacity were investigated. The results indicated that the adsorption capacity of the IPN hydrogels increased with the pH ...

The Surrey section of the London Orbital M25 motorway uses mainly detention pond facilities for the treatment of stormwater runoff. A majority of these implement the use of dry detention basins. However, in a few locations biofiltration facilities operate through the use of reed bed systems. An assessment of the removal efficiencies for both wet biofiltration and dry pond treatment facilities was undertaken. Motorway-derived contaminants, including V, Cr, Mn, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Mo, Cd, Sb and Pb, were measured in unfiltered stormwater collected during the initial stages of a storm event using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Results suggest that a higher level of motorway-derived heavy metal contamination exists in stormwater runoff from a road section with a higher average daily traffic density. In addition, a comparison of both sites shows a higher percentage removal efficiency of heavy metals in stormwater from the biofiltration facility.

Pollution by heavy metals like lead (II) is responsible for health hazards and environmental degradation. Adsorption is a prevalent method applied for removal of heavy metal pollutants from water. This study explored adsorption performances of 30% bromine pretreated chitosan for lead (II) abatement from water. Bromine pretreatment alters porosity and specific surface area of chitosan by means of physicochemical interaction with cationic sites of chitosan skeleton, besides imparting anionic alteration at amino linkages of chitosan, to remove lead (II) by chemical interactions on superfluous active sites as characterized by FTIR, SEM, DTA and elemental analysis. Lead adsorptions were studied in batch mode by varying parameters viz. pH, bromine loading, sorbent dosage, initial lead concentrat...

This paper reports the results of study on the synthesis and performance of polypyrrole nanocomposite coated on rice husk ash in removing the heavy metals such as iron, copper, zinc and manganese from wastewater. The adsorbent materials adopted were found to be an efficient media for the removal of heavy metals in continuous mode using fixed bed column. The column studies were conducted with a flow rate of 1.0mL/min with different bed depths such as 10, 20 and 30cm. It was found that PPy/RHA can be used as an effective adsorbent in the wastewater treatment. The longer breakthrough time were observed for Mn ion in comparison with other ions, under the same conditions. Also, the products were investigated in terms of morphology, chemical structure and thermal stability with scanning electron...

Removal of heavy metals from aqueous solutions has attracted much attention worldwide. Many processes and technologies have been developed to remove heavy metals ions. In our previous study, a silica-poly acrylic amphoteric hybrid hydrogel was successfully prepared with double-network (DN) structure using ?-aminoporpyltriethoxysilane as precursor through a two-step sequential network formation technique. In the present research, the absorption behavior of this hydrogel was investigated carefully using Cu2+ ions and Cr2O 7 2? ions as representatives of negative and positive ions respectively. Under different adsorption conditions, the adsorption behaviors of the hydrogel were studied in detail, including initial concentration of the adsorbed ions, adsorption time, pH and ionic strength. The...

Heavy-metal pollution represents an important environmental problem due to the toxic effects of metals, and their accumulation throughout the food chain leads to serious ecological and health problems. Metal remediation through common physico-chemical techniques is expensive and unsuitable in case of voluminous effluents containing complexing organic matter and low metal contamination. Biotechnological approaches that are designed to cover such niches have, therefore, received great deal of attention in the recent years. Biosorption studies involving low-cost and often dead/pretreated biomass have dominated the literature and, subsequently, extensive reviews focusing on equilibrium and kinetics of metal biosorption have also come up. However, the low binding capacity of biomass for certain recalcitrant metals such as Ni and failure to effectively remove metals from real industrial effluents due to presence of organic or inorganic ligands limit this approach. At times, when pure biosorptive metal removal is not feasible, application of a judicious consortium of growing metal-resistant cells can ensure better removal through a combination of bioprecipitation, biosorption and continuous metabolic uptake of metals after physical adsorption. Such approach may lead to simultaneous removal of toxic metals, organic loads and other inorganic impurities, as well as allow optimization through development of resistant species. However, sensitivity of living cells to extremes of pH or high metal concentration and need to furnish metabolic energy are some of the major constraints of employing growing cells for bioremediation. The efforts to meet such challenges via isolation of metal-resistant bacterial/fungal strains and exploitation of organic wastes as carbon substrates have began. Recent studies show that the strains (bacteria, yeast and fungi) isolated from contaminated sites possess excellent capability of metal scavenging. Some bacterial strains possess high tolerance to various metals and may be potential candidates for their simultaneous removal from wastes. Evidently, the stage has already been set for the application of metal-resistant growing microbial cells for metal harvesting. This review focuses on the applicability of growing bacterial/fungal/algal cells for metal removal and the efforts directed towards cell/process development to make this option technically/economically viable for the comprehensive treatment of metal-rich effluents. PMID:14749114

The first phase of a program to develop and demonstrate a cost-effective, integrated process for remediation of asbestos-containing material that is contaminated with organics, heavy metals, and radioactive compounds was successfully completed. Laboratory scale tests were performed to demonstrate initial process viability for asbestos conversion, organics removal, and radionuclide and heavy metal removal. All success criteria for the laboratory tests were met. (1) Ohio DSI demonstrated greater than 99% asbestos conversion to amorphous solids using their commercial process. (2) KAI demonstrated 90% removal of organics from the asbestos suspension. (3) Westinghouse STC achieved the required metals removal criteria on a laboratory scale (e.g., 92% removal of uranium from solution, resin loadings of 0.6 equivalents per liter, and greater than 50% regeneration of resin in a batch test.) Using the information gained in the laboratory tests, the process was reconfigured to provide the basis for the mixed waste remediation system. An integrated process is conceptually developed, and a Phase 2 program plan is proposed to provide the bench-scale development needed in order to refine the design basis for a pilot processing system.

A software was developed to design and simulate an activated sludge unit associated to a new technology to remove heavy metals from wastewater. In this process, a continuous high efficiency biphasic reactor operates by using particles of activated peat in conjugation with the sludge unit. The results obtained may be useful to increase the efficiency or to reduce the design and operational costs involved in a activated sludge unit. (author). 5 refs., 2 tabs.

The bibliography contains citations concerning the use of ultrafiltration in the treatment of wastewaters. Techniques for the removal of heavy metals and organic pollutants are described. The results of bench-scale and pilot-plant studies, and the experiences derived from full-scale industrial installations are presented. Efficiency improvement methods, process design criteria, and comparisons of cost effectiveness versus other treatment methods are discussed. (Contains 50-250 citations and includes a subject term index and title list.) (Copyright NERAC, Inc. 1995)

The goal of removing the sediment fraction containing heavy metals from river sediment was studied. Different parameters such as pH, flotation time, different collectors, distilled water, tap water, and different salts were investigated by the authors to achieve a high separation efficiency. Results of the flotation revealed that 63% by weight of the input dredged sediment can be safely and successfully separated, thereby, meeting the current environmental requirement of the Flemish regulation. (orig.)

Magnetic polymer resins capable of efficient removal of actinides and heavy metals from contaminated water are disclosed together with methods for making, using, and regenerating them. The resins comprise polyamine-epichlorohydrin resin beads with ferrites attached to the surfaces of the beads. Markedly improved water decontamination is demonstrated using these magnetic polymer resins of the invention in the presence of a magnetic field, as compared with water decontamination methods employing ordinary ion exchange resins or ferrites taken separately.

A problem with flyash from straw and wood combustion is the high level of heavy metals, especially cadmium. Two electrodialytic remediation experiments were carried out on cadmium polluted flyash from straw combustion. The flyash could be cleaned to 1/3 of its initial level after 24 days of remediation. Further removal of cadmium could be possible with longer remediation time or a higher current density