There is a wide variety of radioactive, toxic, andheavy metal contaminants in the groundwaters and soils at DOEfacilities. Some of the most common are uranium, technitium,trich]oroethylene, and polychlorinate biphenyls. Demand existsfor the ability to remove contaminates selectively andefficiently from groundwater and soil, while removing as fewnon-contaminates as possible. A successful separation processmust be capable of removing small amounts of radionuclideparticles or other heavy metals from very large quantities ofsoil or water. It also should be capable of effectively removingminimum quantities of small particles from large quantities ofsoil with the same fine particle size. In Phase I of thisproject, the contaminated water (or slurry for the case ofsolids) will be processed by airsparged hydrocyclone technology,a new technology that has demonstrated a strong potential forthis application. During the process, the volatile organiccontaminates (VOC) will be stripped out first. Then, anappropriate flotation reagent will be added, and radionuclideparticles will be recovered into a concentrate. The stripped VOCcan then be either vented into the air or absorbed by activatedcarbon. The concentrated radionuclide can be further processed tobecome a highly pure product, either ready for disposal or foruse in other applications. Anticipated Results/Potential Commercial Applications as described by the awardee: Data have been obtained to show thatthis technology would be capable of removing both radionuclideand VOC either from soil or groundwater. Once fully developed,the technology can be used at all DOE facilities as well as someEPA superfund sites that have similar contamination problems.
