Results from the low level mercury sorbent test at the Oak Ridge Y-12 Plant in Tennessee.
A mercury sorbent test was performed near the headwaters of the Upper East Fork Poplar Creek at the Oak Ridge Y-12 Plant in Tennessee. The sorbents SIR-200 (ResinTech), Keyle:X (SolmeteX), and GT-73 (Rohm and Haas) were the best materials tested for low level mercury removal. Each of these sorbents has a thiol-based active site. None of the tested sorbents reduced the mercury concentration to less than the existing 12 ng/l NPDES limit. For this small scale test, SIR-200, Keyle:X, and GT-73 reduced the mercury concentration to less than 51 ng/l, which is a regulatory treatment goal. The other sorbents tested, including granular activated carbon (Filtrasorb 300), did not reduce the mercury concentration below 51 ng/l at any tested flow up to 5 bed volumes per minute. Because of the cost and large volume of sorbent, a wastewater treatment plant for this stream would be prohibitively expensive to construct and maintain.
Hollerman
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Acadiana Research Laboratory, University of Southwestern Louisiana, P.O. Box 44210, Lafayette, LA 70504, USA. wahollerman@mindspring.com
Holland
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L
Ila
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D
Hensley
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J
Southworth
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G
Klasson
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T
Taylor
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P
Johnston
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J
Turner
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R
D000042:Absorption; D000465:Algorithms; D005374:Filtration; D007220:Industrial Waste / Q000032:analysis*; D008628:Mercury / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D016062:Porosity; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis / Q000302:isolation & purification*
D007220:Industrial Waste; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D008628:Mercury