WASTE TREATMENT PROCESS FOR REMOVAL OF CONTAMINANTS FROM AQUEOUS, MIXED-WASTE SOLUTIONS USING SEQUENTIAL CHEMICAL TREATMENT AND CROSSFLOW MICROFILTRATION, FOLLOWED BY DEWATERING

摘要

WASTE TREATMENT PROCESS FOR REMOVAL OF CONTAMINANTS FROM AQUEOUS, MIXED-WASTE SOLUTIONS USING SEQUENTIAL CHEMICAL TREATMENT AND CROSSFLOW MICROFILTRATION, FOLLOWED BY DEWATERING In processes of this invention aqueous waste solutions containing a variety of mixed waste contaminants are treated to remove the contaminants by a sequential addition of chemicals and adsorption/ion exchange powdered materials to remove the contaminants including lead, cadmium, uranium, cesium-137, strontium-85/90, trichloroethylene and benzene, and impurities including iron and calcium. Staged conditioning of the waste solution produces a polydisperse system of size enlarged complexes of the contaminants in three distinct configurations: water-soluble metal complexes, insoluble metal precipitation complexes, and contaminant-bearing particles of ion exchange and adsorbent materials. The volume of the waste is reduced by separation of the polydisperse system by cross-flow microfiltration, followed by low-temperature evaporation and/or filterpressing. The water produced as filtrate is discharged if it meets a specified target water quality, or else the filtrate is recycled until the target is achieved.