A CONTINUOUS HIGH-CAPACITY WATER TREATMENT PROCESS FOR THE RECOVERY OF HEAVY MATALS

AN ADVANCED WASTE-WATER TREATMENT PROCESS FOR CONTINUOUS SEPARATIONOF IONIC SPECIES, INCLUDING HEAVY METALS, FROM AQUEOUS SOLUTIONS HAS BEEN DEVELOPED. THIS PROCESS SHOWS A POTENTIAL FOR SEPARATION OF A VARIETY OF COMPONENTS FROM COMPLEX MIXTURES AT SUFFICIENTLY HIGH CAPACITY AND LOW COST TO BE SUITABLE FOR APPLICATION ON AN INDUSTRIAL SCALE. THE OBJECTIVES ARE TO PROVIDE VALIDATION AND DEVELOP SPECIFIC APPLICATIONS FOR THE NEW PROCESS AND TO ESTABLISH ITS COMPETITIVENESS WITH EXISTING PROCESSES. A DEMONSTRATRATION OF EFFICIENT SEPARATION OF HEAVY METALS FROM SURFACE MINE WATERS IF PLANNED. THE APPROACH WILL BE TO MAKE USE OF A DYNAMIC PROTOTYPE DEVIICE TO CONDUCT A PROGRAM OF DEMINERALIZATION TESTS ON HEAVY METAL CONTAMINANTS SUCH AS THOSE FOUND IN THE BERKELEY PIT, AN INACTIVE COPPER MINE IN BUTTE, MONTANA. PHASE I WILL CONSIST OF A STUDY OF THE DEPENDENCE OF THE DEMINERALIZATION PARAMETERS ON A DEFINED MATRIX OF INDEPENDENT PROCESS PARAMETERS. IT IS EXPECTED THAT SUBSTANTIAL GAINS IN THE RATE OF SEPARATION, THE SEPARATION RATIO, ENERGY EFFICIENCY, AND LOW PROCESS COST WILL BE REALIZED.