A New Class of Nanocomposite Treatment Media for Efficient Mercury Remediation

Historically, releases of mercury have resulted in contamination of soil, groundwater, surface water, sediments, and biota, posing difficult assessment and cleanup challenges at a number of DOE sites. Although a variety of sorbent materials for capturing mercury in contaminated water are available commercially, an opportunity exists to drastically increase the efficiency of the adsorption process, thereby lowering cost and remediation time. This project will develop a new class of nanoparticle-based sorbents wherein the reaction sites are highly accessible to mercury ions, thereby providing efficient and fast removal. In Phase I, nanoparticle-based sorbents were produced and tested for reaction kinetics and sorption capacity for mercury removal. Preliminary results showed that the sorbent performed significantly better than commercially available sorbents in terms of both reaction kinetics and loading capacity. In Phase II, the morphology of the sorbent particles will be optimized, the sorbent will be incorporated in a filter cartridge, and the sorbent will be field tested at a contaminated DOE site. Commercial Applications and other Benefits as described by the awardee: An estimated 300,000 contaminated sites exist in United States, and the estimated cleanup cost over the next 25 years is in excess of $200 billion. Capturing mercury from contaminated soil and water is a major component of the treatment process. The new sorbent promises to be superior to currently used technologies. Additionally, the technology could be used in other water treatment processes