Physical, chemical and biological separation of metals
Proponent:
Alex Sol Inc.
Name of project :
Development and demonstration of a soluble metal precipitation method for process waters: a new soil and sediment decontamination technology.
Summary description of project:
The Alex Sol project has allowed demonstrating the application of a new soil and sediment decontamination technology. The technology developed by Alex Sol Inc. and INRS-EAU calls upon several metal removal techniques that can be applied to different concentration and contaminant types. By and large, the process aims to extract metals such as lead, copper and zinc from contaminated soil. Depending on the metals present and their concentration, the process uses several metal removal techniques. The originality of the process relies mainly on turning to biological treatment methods as well as the ability to combine several technologies.
The first step of the project consists in the physical separation of metals by the sifting of contaminated and non-contaminated soil. This physical separation also brings into play separation techniques by density, by magnetism and by flotation. This step is used to reduce the contamination level of metals prior to their chemical or biological separation.
The choice of the separation type (chemical or biological) is next made depending on the type and the concentration of the metals present. These reactions are made possible by using the oxidant potential of certain acids, chemical products and microorganisms to adjust the pH and the oxidation-reduction potential of the environment in order to turn the metals into a soluble form. These separations are then followed by a dehydration that produces both the contaminated soil as well as the liquids containing metals. These liquids are then treated to extract the metals.
Technical partners:
- Biotechnology Research Institute (NRCC-BRI)
- Consortium de reSearch minérale (COREM)
- City of Montréal
- Institut national de la reSearch scientifique (INRS-Eau)
Funding partners:
- Alex Sol Inc.
- Montreal Centre of Excellence in Brownfields Rehabilitation (MCEBR)
- Fonds des priorités gouvernementales en sciences et technologies - volet environnement (FPGST-E)