CONTAMINATED SOILS

NUMEROUS SUPERFUND SITES THROUGHOUT THE UNITED STATES ARE CONTAMINATED WITH HEAVY METALS, PARTICULARLY LEAD. THE MAJOR SHORTCOMINGS OF THE TRADITIONAL OFF-SITE LANDFILLING ROUTE FOR DISPOSAL OF THE CONTAMINATED SOILS ARE THE HIGH COST ASSOCIATED WITH RCRA REQUIREMENTS FOR HAZARDOUS WASTE DISPOSAL AND THE POTENTIAL LONG TERM ENVIRONMENTAL LIABILITIES. RECOVERY PROCESSES FOR SOIL TREATMENT ARE ATTRACTIVE BECAUSE THEY NOT ONLY RENDER THE SOILS NONHAZARDOUS AND PREVENT AQUIFER CONTAMINATION BUT ALSO RECOVER HEAVY METALS SUCH AS LEAD THERBY CONSERVING THE NATION'S RESOURCES. PEI PROPOSES TO INVESTIGATE AN INNOVATIVE ELECTROMEMBRANE PROCESS EMPLOYING A CHELATING AGENT TO RECOVER LEAD FROM CONTAMINATED SOILS. THE PROGRAM OBJECTIVES ARE TO: 1) OPTIMIZE, THROUGH BENCH SCALE TESTS, THE PROCESS VARIABLES FOR APPLICABILITY OF THE MEMBRANE PROCESS FOR RECOVERY OF LEAD FROM CONTAMINATED SOLS, 2) INVESTIGATE SCALE-UP CRITERIA FOR THE DESIGN OF A PILOT-SCALE PLANT, 3) ESTIMATE THE ECONOMICS OF THE PROCESS FOR LEAD RECOVERY FROM CONTAMINATED SOILS, AND 4) INVESTIGATE THE POTENTIAL OF THE PROCESS FOR RECOVERING OTHER METALLIC CONTAMINANTS PRESENT IN DIFFERENT HAZARDOUS WASTE CATEGORIES.