Two-Stage Separation of Organics and Metals from Contaminated Soil

7 Two-Stage Separation of Organics and Metals from Contaminated Soil--Aspen Systems, Inc., 184 Cedar Hill Street, , Marlborough, MA 01752-3017; (508) 481-5058 Dr. B. Scott Jaynes, Principal Investigator Mr. Hamed Borhanian, Business Official DOE Grant No. DE-FG02-97ER82333 Amount: $74,975 Remediation of soil containing both hazardous organics and heavy metals represents a significant challenge to clean up contaminated sites of the Department of Energy. Cost effective remediation techniques have not yet been identified. Sub-critical CO2 solvent extraction has been successfully applied to the remediation of organics, but has not been suitable for heavy metal extraction because of the non-polar nature of the solvent. This project will develop a CO2 soluble chelation polymer based on a new concept and utilize the polymer in a two-stage soil extraction procedure that efficiently separates hazardous organics and heavy metals in a single extraction unit. If successful, this approach will enable an extraction technique for the treatment of contaminated soils containing mixtures of hazardous organic materials and a variety of metal ions. During the Phase I project, a CO2 -soluble, metal binding polymer will be developed. The polymer can be readily modified to bind to and extract a variety of heavy metals or radionuclides, and can be regenerated after the extraction for reuse in the process. Synthesis and testing of the CO2 -soluble metal binding polymer will be carried out in Phase I, along with the construction of a laboratory extraction unit to demonstrate a two-stage, one vessel extraction system for both hazardous organics and heavy metals. In Phase II, a small scale pilot plant will be built to actually demonstrate the efficacy of the new system. Commercial Applications and Other Benefits as described by the awardee: The new CO2 -soluble metal binding polymer will enable the development of an efficient and cost-effective two stage extraction system for soils and solid wastes contaminated by organics and heavy metals. This technology is unique and will significantly reduce the cost of remediation of large number of contaminated soil sites in the world.