STTR Phase I: Arsenic and Selenium Remediation and Recovery with Immobilized Metal Polyamine Composites

This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project will advance the ability to remove arsenate, arsenite, selenate and selenite from surface waters and waste streams using Immobilized Metal Polyamine Composites (IMPACs). Preliminary studies using tetravalent zirconium on a silica polyamine composite showed good selectivity and led to an efficient process for stripping the arsenate, selenate or selenite without leaching the zirconium from the composite. The contamination of surface waters and aquifers with arsenic and selenium is a ubiquitous problem owing to the presence of these anions in mining and industrial waste streams and as a result of geothermal mobilization of arsenic. Tremendous effort has gone into developing remediation technologies and although many hold promise for site specific applications they suffer from several key disadvantages including high operating cost, low selectivity and generation of huge amounts of sludge as a byproduct. Development of an adaptable series of durable anion exchange materials would have a broad impact on the mining, metal processing and remediation industries. Development of the proposed IMPAC products will have a large impact in the Northwestern U. S. where there are hundreds of abandoned and operating mine sites with arsenic and selenium containing waste streams in holding tanks or surface waters.