A Low-Cost Chemical Remediation Technology for Chromium in Shipyard Stormwater

The goal of this project is to design a cost-effective, environment-friendly, and novel remedial system that is able to remove chromium and other metal contaminants, such as copper and zinc from stormwater in shipyards as well from metal enriched wastewater generated by other industries. During Phase I of the project, we developed a sorbent material from an industrial waste byproduct and a laboratory-scale packed bed reactor (PBR) system that was tremendously successful in removing Cr, Cu, Pb, and Zn from simulated shipyard stormwater. Our Phase II goal is to optimize the sorbent and the remedial system so that it can be used on a field scale, and to provide a short-term on-site demonstration. In Phase-II, we will “scale up” the system and run simulations under more realistic conditions to develop a basic prototype. The modified system specifications will be developed after obtaining input (and source water) from multiple shipyard personnel, both Naval and private. Subsequent to the basic prototype development we will partner with a Naval shipyard test site to perform a preliminary demonstration of the technology on a field scale. Our engineering team will also design a scaled version of the deployable system to clean up accidental off-site spills.