Lack of simple, rapid techniques for removing mercury from industrial waste (soils, sledges, debris, fine solids, and spent filter media) is a major problem for Government and industry. Methods for the recovery and treatment of mercury from industrial waste require extreme care, long hours, and generate large amounts of hydrocarbon waste solvent. This project will use a new, cost effective technique, supercritical fluid extraction, to clean mercury ion and organic mercury complexes from these wastes. In supercritical fluid extraction, a highly compressed gas (in this case carbon dioxide) that is near or above its critical temperature and critical pressure points, is utilized to remove compounds by varying pressure and temperature. Since there is no solvent to dispose of, this method is expected to be very cost effective. Due to the physical and chemical properties of supercritial fluids, it is also expected to be very efficient. During Phase I, the extraction of various solids from industrial wastes products using supercritial CO2 will be investigated and evaluated.
Commercial Applications and Other Benefits as described by the awardee: The supercritical fluid extraction market is poised to enter its most rapid stage of development by the penetration of the hydrocarbon based extraction. The product of this research could be used by automotive, aerospace, and electronic industries, as well as other industries dealing with organic waste. The technique could save millions of tax dollars by reducing materials costs through recycling as well as the costs of sludge disposal in a hazardous waste landfill.
