Novel Permeable Reactive Barrier Materials for the Mercury Plume

72994S03-I Mercury is of significant environmental concern because of its toxicity, persistence in the environment, and bioaccumulation in the food chain. Several DOE sites have subsurface plumes that are contaminated with toxic metals such as mercury. However, no suitable reactive material is available for use as a permeable reactive barrier (PRB) to decontaminate the mercury plume. Preliminary studies of new low-cost sorbents based on inorganic-organic hybrid materials have demonstrated extremely high affinity, selectivity, and loading capacity for mercury, suggesting their potential utility as reactive materials for PRBs. This project will develop commercially viable low-cost, robust sorbents for selectively removing mercury from water. Phase I will demonstrate the feasibility of the new type of barrier technology in laboratory scale test systems using surrogate wastewater and contaminated water samples taken from a DOE site. The results will be utilized for the design and implementation of field testing at a mercury-contaminated DOE site. Commercial Applications and Other Benefits as described by the awardee: The proposed inorganic-organic hybrid materials should have potential application in treatment plants for drinking water, industrial wastewater, mining wastewater, municipal wastewater, nuclear waste, and also in point-of-entry water purification systems.