Novel, Low Cost Adsorbent for Removal of Heavy Metal Contaminates in Ground/Sea Water

There are over 2  ,    contaminated sites in the United States that require remediation. The estimated minimum cost for remediation, in 1999-2    dollars is $2   billion and can take from 1  to 3  years or longer. Groundwater contamination is involved in over 7  percent of the sites and of those; over 5  percent contain heavy metal contaminants. Heavy metal pollution of ground water is an extremely serious environmental problem and a costly one to remediate. Government agencies and the private sector are interested in new technologies, which can economically and effectively remove heavy metals from groundwater or wastewater.  Alkali Fly Ash - Permeable Reactive Barrier (AFA-PRB) is a new and innovative technology (constructed from fly ash that otherwise would have been land filled) that has the potential of removing lead (Pb) from contaminated water in an economically feasible manner. The overall objective of this work is to show technical feasibility and economic viability of AFA-PRB in removing lead from contaminated ground or surface water. The planned work for the initial phase includes: 1) construction of AFA-PRB with controlled permeability; 2) testing the ability of AFA-PRB in removing lead from contaminated water; 3) construction of bench scale AFA-PRB; and 4) investigation of lead removal mechanisms. Preliminary work indicates that AFA-PRB can remove cadmium from highly contaminated water very effectively (up to 99 percent efficiency).