HEAVY METALS REMEDIATION

HEAVY METALS WASTEWATER REMEDIATION

This technology was developed by Ural Process Engineering Company (UPEC) for remediation of industrial wastewater from heavy metals. A proprietary process of AC current coagulation (US Patent No.6,077,416) is used to effectively remove and recover heavy metals from industrial wastewater. One of immediate applications is in chromium removal from wastewater effluent of tanning facilities and electroplating shops. In a partnership with the Brookhaven National Laboratory, a validation of the technology was completed, funded by the U.S. Department of Energy grant. A prototype industrial unit was placed in one of tanning facilities in the United States. Other heavy metals removal, such as arsenic, copper, cadmium, zinc, etc. is possible with minor modifications to UPEC equipment. Ural Process Engineering Company is our partner on this project.

We are looking to partner with water treatment equipment manufacturer or an engineering firm in the US or in Europe for commercialization of this technology.

For additional information go to www.upec.ru or contact Fenixtec at lk39@verizon.net.

A paper presented at the Industrial Wastewater and Best Available Treatment Technologies Conference(Nashville, TN, February 26, 2003) is available upon request. The abstract of this paper is posted below:

New Technology for Tannery Wastewater Treatment
Aron M. Khalemsky (UPEC Ltd.), Leonid Kelner (Fenixtec), Mickey Kuhns (Irving Tanning Company), and Jae Jo (Brookhaven National Laboratory)

Heavy metals in certain industrial wastewaters are a constant problem. Current methods used to treat industrial effluents are relatively cumbersome and expensive. As a rule, when metals such as chromium, arsenic, copper, etc. are involved, the dewatered sludge has to be deposited into a landfill at a substantial cost to the industry.

In the tanning and leather finishing industry, chromium contamination is of particular concern. An average tannery may expend a considerable amount of resources for wastewater treatment. Additional costs involve disposal of other chromium contaminated solid waste, such as leather shavings and trim. Development of a successful technology to treat the tannery wastewater combined with effective solid waste disposal may provide the tanning industry in the US and other countries with the needed boost they need to stay in business and continue to operate profitably.

The basic concept for the treatment technology is in utilization of an electrocoagulation process originally invented by UPEC (Ural Process Engineering Company) in Russia. In this process substantial improvement of heavy metals extraction from wastewater is accomplished by applying AC pulsed current to electrodes of a special design. Electrode materials are usually made of scrap aluminum and/or duralumin and steel (iron). The rate of decontamination is a factor of 5 to 10 better then with other coagulation methods. The method is effective not only for removal of heavy metals, such as Co, Cr, Cu, Zn, Cd, As but it is also effective in removal of organic pollutants. The method is covered by a US patent with another application recently submitted to the US Patent Office.

Preliminary studies were undertaken jointly by UPEC and Fenix Technology to determine applicability of the UPEC electrocoagulation process for tannery wastewater treatment. The work was performed at the Irving Tanning Company in Hartland, Maine in cooperation with the Brookhaven National Laboratory (this work was partially funded by the US Department of Energy). In addition, a similar technology was already implemented by UPEC in Russia for treatment of wastewater at a copper electroplating facility, where the copper content in wastewater was successfully reduced to levels below 0.1 ppm. Earlier, UPEC developed a similar process for copper removal from a major copper smelter in Russia.

Many tanneries are currently utilizing local municipal wastewater plants to treat their effluent and then to deposit the resulting sludge into landfills at a considerable cost. An average tannery may spend approximately $10 to $15 per 1,000 gallons for treatment of discharged wastewater and waste disposal. Further, the tannery will have to dispose of other chrome bearing solid wastes (leather shavings and trimmings). This comprises a substantial cost component of the operations for many tanneries. Considering that the tanneries in the United States are running at a very slim profit margin, the environmental cost could often be the last straw in making the tannery profitable or to break-even. Reducing this cost to about $7-8 per $1,000 gallons would significantly improve their balance sheets and provide additional incentive to keep the operation in the United States (many companies are opting to close their plants and move them offshore).

Currently, there is no other practical alternative for the solid waste disposal other than the landfill. The costs of landfill are increasing globally and, in particular, constraints regarding chrome content in many countries render this waste as ‘special’ incurring higher disposal costs. The success of UPEC wastewater treatment technology is highly dependent on effective removal of chromium compounds and organic contaminants from wastewater an on utilizing filtered solids removed from the wastewater and processing them in a way that would eliminate the need for the costly landfill disposal. This is the second component of this technology that is currently under development.

ECG System for Wastewater Remediation

Tannery Wastewater Electrocoagulation Industrial Prototype

Technology for production and application of sodium ferrates

UPEC in collaboration with FENIXTEC and funding from the US Department of Energy (2006-2008) has developed cost effective technology for producing industrial quantities of materials in the family of sodium/potassium ferrates that are effective in reducing heavy metals, specifically arsenic, from drinking water and industrial wastewater, as well as in removing other contaminants and for sanitizing wastewater and drinking water. Ferratesare the most potent oxidizing agents known. We perfected the manufacturing process and designed equipment to produce it in industrial qunatities as well as developed a technology that allows to make a more stable product.
This material can be added in relativley small quantities (from 1 to 100 mcg/l) to water or wastewater and it works within seconds removing heavy metals, phosphates and sanitizing from various forms of bio-contaminants. Ferrates could replace chlorines as disinfecting agent for tap water without any side effects of chlorine. In recent tests addition of Fernel^TM would effectively reduce E-coli forms from 10⁶ to under 100 level in seconds.
The material developed is trademarked as Fernel^TM and is covered by US and Russian patents. We have finalized the equipment design for production of Fernel^TM and are currently negotiating strategic partnerships for introducing Fernel^TM technology worldwide. Samples of Fernel^TM are available for testing.

Manufacturing Prototype