摘要:
A method for segregating fines from the clean coarse fraction of the soil, preparing the contaminated fines for subsequent processing, and then separating the contaminants from the clean fines. The process produces a small, highly concentrated contaminanth fraction and a large fraction of clean soil. Metals, metallic compounds, and/or radioactive contaminants are removed from the fine fraction using either gravity separation, multistage gravity separation, a centrifugal jig, regular magnetic or paramagnetic separation using a high gradient magnetic separator, and/or a superconducting separator. Preparation of the fines requires selective segregation of the targeted particles size range and the removal of interfering soil fractions, and vegetation such as root hairs. This preparation is accomplished by a combination of attrition scrubbing, countercurrent jigging, and screening.
摘要:
Solutions such as for example drinking water, ground water and extracting solutions contaminated with heavy metals and radioactive species, singly or in combination, are treated by first treating the contaminated solution with silicate and ammonium hydroxide solution precipitants. Then the contaminated solution is separately treated with an acid which gels, polymerizes and/or precipitates the contaminant-containing silica matrix to form an easily dewaterable and separable solid. The solid contaminants are readily removed from the cleansed solution by filtration means. The process utilizes a novel combination of steps which maximizes contaminant removal, minimizes waste volume, and produces a treatable waste solid. The preferred precipitants are sodium silicate, and ammonium hydroxide. The preferred mineral acid is hydrochloric acid.
摘要:
Particulate material is treated by first washing the contaminated material with a contaminant mobilizing solution comprising a leaching agent, a surfactant or a mixture thereof. Large particles, typically greater than 5 mm are mechanically separated, washed with water and returned to the site as recovered soil. Fines, along with contaminants dissolved or dispersed in the contaminant mobilizing solution are separated from intermediate sized particles by a countercurrent flow of the contaminant mobilizing solution, preferably in a mineral jig. The intermediate sized particles are then abraded in an attrition scrubber to dislodge attached mineral slimes or fines. These additional fines are separated from the intermediate sized particles with a countercurrent flow of wash water in a second mineral jig. The preferred oxidizing agent is chlorine, and hydrogen is the preferred reducing agent.
摘要:
A process system is disclosed for the treatment of a waste sand material containing metal contaminants. The waste sand material is the product of sandblasting techniques used to remove paint. The metal contaminants generally include lead, copper, chromium, mercury and cadmium, among other heavy metals. The process particularly provides for the concentration of the lead contaminant in a waste sand that can be economically reclaimed or disposed in an environmentally safe manner. The process also produces a cleaned sand that contains only residual amounts of the metallic contaminants in environmentally acceptable levels. The process provides for the contacting of the waste sand material with a paint decomposer, attrition abrading this sand slurry, size separating the attrition abraded slurry to form a waste sand slurry and a cleaned sand, and removing a portion of the excess water content in the waste sand slurry.
摘要:
A method for removing and stabilizing in-situ soluble heavy metal contaminants in land formations which comprises introducing into said formation an aqueous remediation solution comprising naturally-occurring ions present in said formation and remediation ions. The remediation solution selectively solubilizes and mobilizes the heavy metal contaminants into solution while substantially suppressing the displacement of said naturally-occurring ions from said formation. The method is effective with heavy metals which exist in both anionic and cationic form, and may be used to treat land formations below the surface to reduce soluble heavy metal contamination to a few parts per billion.
摘要:
A method for removing contaminated resin particles from soils. The method entrains the resin particles and fines from the soil, which, due to the difference in specific gravity between resin and soil particles, results in a significant disparity between particle size of the entrained resin and the entrained fines. This, in turn permits the fines to be screened from the resin and the larger soil particles, which have not been entrained, to settle out from the mixture.
摘要:
A process for determining the suitability of soil washing for various types of soils, sludges and other solids is disclosed. The process may be applied to relatively small soil samples which have been contaminated in order to determine the suitability and economics for treating the tested soil using a full-scale soil washing process. The process involves the steps of identifying the contaminated particle size ranges contained in the soil sample, identifying an effective extractant for removing the contaminant of interest, and identifying an effective leachate treatment approach for the particular soil sample of interest.
摘要:
The removal of organics and volatile metals from soils using thermal desorption comprises moving contaminated materials, positioned on a belt conveyor, through a chamber under oxygen conditions, temperature conditions, and residence time effective to substantially avoid incineration of the contaminants. The method further comprises heating the contaminated material for volatilizing the contaminants and for producing a processed material that is substantially decontaminated. To carry the volatilized contaminants from the chamber, a transport gas may be passed through the chamber counter-current to the movement of the contaminated material. A gas stream including the volatilized contaminants and the transport gas may be passed through a condenser and through a scrubber for producing a substantially cleaned gas and a contaminated liquid concentrate. The cleaned gas may be recycled back into the chamber as the transport gas or passed through a gas cleaning system prior to discharge into the atmosphere. The liquid concentrate is passed through a water treatment system for producing substantially cleaned water. The water may be passed through an air cooler and recycled back into the quencher or may be passed through a carbon absorption column and recycled as quench water for the processed material.
摘要:
Soil comprising small soil particles, clay and silt particles, humus, fine vegetation, and contaminated with soluble or insoluble radioactive species is treated by first introducing an aqueous extracting solution comprising a mixture of sodium and potassium carbonate (or bicarbonate), or ammonium carbonate (or bicarbonate) into the soil to solubilize and disperse the radioactive species into solution. The extracting solution has a pH greater than or equal to about 7.5. Contaminated fine vegetation then is separated from the soil and extracting solution. Next, an acid like hydrochloric acid is introduced into the soil. The acid is added in an amount sufficient to lower the pH of the extracting solution at which point desirable organic material will substantially precipitate or coagulate from the extracting solution. The cleansed soil particles, including organic matter, is separated from the contaminated extracting solution. Radioactive species are then removed from the extracting solution, which then may be reused.
摘要:
A borated aqueous solution from a nuclear reactor coolant system dilute chemical-decontamination process or from an equipment washing process which has been contaminated with radioactive metals or heavy metals including cobalt, nickel, chromium, iron, manganese, lead or mercury and with a chelating agent, detergent or soap is treated with an oxidizing agent to oxidize the chelating agent, detergent or soap and to precipitate the contaminant metals. The contaminant metals are then separated from the solution by centrifugal filtration, micromembrane belt filtration or magnetic separation. Advantageously, a very small volume of precipitate may then be buried and the decontaminated solution may be recycled or further treated and released for other uses.