Recovery Act - Economical Sequestering of Heavy Metals Dissolved in Acidic Water

Heavy metals dissolved in the process and wastewaters generated by coal fired power plants present formidable costs and environmental risks. In addition, current practices to remediate or otherwise reclaim metal-laden wastewaters from electric power generation involve relatively impractical and/or expensive treatment technologies. We propose a relatively simple and economical method of sequestering heavy metals from both the process and wastewater streams of coal-fired power plants. This patented technology will facilitate the reclamation of process water within the facility, from flue gas scrubber discharge and ponds holding fly or furnace ash. Pond overflows could also be treated cost-effectively. The technology has been proven in our laboratory as well as in industrial test settings. Commercial Applications and Other Benefits: The advantages we expect to bring are, and not limited to, minimal capital investment, effective heavy metal removal from in-process and standing wastewaters, simple regeneration of metal-removing media, potential for recycling the captured heavy metals or relatively easy disposal of the saturated media in a landfill. By the end of Phase I we expect to prove the technology by lab testing the media with the specific pollutant metals liberated into the waste- and process water streams germane to coal-fired power plant operations. We will focus on optimizing this emerging technology for the specific flow rates and environmental conditions in such waters, and tailoring media formulations for their most cost-effective application in each context. Success at this phase will lead us to Phase II to develop the