--> Abstract: Using a Waste by-Product to Remove Metals from Contaminated Shipyard Stormwater, by Michael Hardy, Dibyendu Sarkar, Konstantinos Makris, and Rupali Datta; #90078 (2008)

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Using a Waste by-Product to Remove Metals from Contaminated Shipyard Stormwater

Michael Hardy, Dibyendu Sarkar, Konstantinos Makris, and Rupali Datta
Earth and Environmental Science, University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX

Metals contamination is a significant problem in many industrial sites. While there are several existing remediation techniques for treating metals from industrial wastewater with their inherent advantages and disadvantages, the reported study evaluated the effectiveness of using a waste by-product—drinking water treatment residuals or WTRs—as a sorbent to remove a host of metals (aluminum, copper, iron, lead, and zinc) from a simulated industrial stormwater runoff. The major advantage of using the WTRs is the cost-effectiveness—the WTRs can be obtained free of charge from drinking-water treatment plants, and they have already been shown to have a high capacity to remove oxyanionic contaminants from water, such as arsenate, chromate, and perchlorate. In the reported study, an aluminum-based WTR (Al-WTR) obtained from a water treatment facility in Florida was used in batch experiments to determine its sorption capacity for several metals. Effects of environmental factors (pH, competing ions, matrix effects) on the sorption/desorption process were also studied. A subsequent column study was performed using the Al-WTRs as the primary reactive substrate to evaluate its efficacy as a sorbent to treat metals from the contaminated water under continuous flow conditions. Experimental results demonstrate the ability of the Al-WTR to remove a host of metals from the industrial stormwater. Further studies on developing this novel and inexpensive method of removing metals from contaminated aqueous systems are ongoing.

 

AAPG Search and Discover Article #90078©2008 AAPG Annual Convention, San Antonio, Texas