A Selective and Cost Effective Oxidant for the Treatment of Radioactive Tank Waste

11 Novel Separation Method Based On The Electrosynthesis of Dual Oxidants--Lynntech, Inc., 7610 Eastmark Drive, Suite 105, College Station, TX 77840-4024; (409) 693-0017 Dr. Adrian Denvir, Principal Investigator Dr. Oliver J. Murphy, Business Official DOE Grant No. DE-FG03-97ER82421 Amount: $75,000 There are 110 million cubic meters of groundwater and surface water on Department of Energy sites that are contaminated with a mixture of Radioactive and hazardous organic contaminants. Conventional treatment methods to remove the contaminants require two processes to separate the organic waste from the metal waste. In this project a single-step separation process will be developed based on the simultaneous electrochemical generation of sodium ferrate and hydrogen peroxide. The ferrate ion and hydrogen peroxide are powerful oxidizing agents that will attack the organic component of the waste, while the ferric hydroxide, generated by the decomposition of the ferrate, will separate out and settle out the metal ion waste. In Phase I the feasibility of the project will be established by showing that it is possible to generate ferrate ions by the oxidation of iron at the anode while at the same time generating hydrogen peroxide by reducing oxygen at the cathode. The resulting chemicals will then be used to treat a simulated mixed waste. In Phase II a prototype cell will be built for testing at any convenient Department of Energy facility. Commercial Applications and Other Benefits as described by the awardee: The market for wastewater treatment and sludge management is worth about $12 billion per year. This innovative wastewater treatment system has high commercialization potential in the textile industry for dye wastewater treatment and metal finishing industries where mixed wastes are a major problem. _