U.S. scientists say a material that captures and removes mercury and other toxic substances from industrial waste streams is now commercially available.
The self-assembled monolayers on mesoporous supports, or SAMMS, technology was developed at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. The Battelle Memorial Institute, which operates the laboratory for the government, has licensed the process to Steward Environmental Solutions of Chattanooga, Tenn.
Researchers said SAMMS technology can be tailored to selectively remove metal contaminants without creating hazardous waste or by-products. Steward said it intends to initially market use of the process for treating stack emissions from coal fired power plants, process industry and municipal facilities.
In tests conducted at PNNL, scientists said 99.9 percent of mercury in simulated waste water was successfully removed. That reduction places the mercury levels well below the Environmental Protection Agency’s discharge limits and could potentially provide significant savings in disposal charges for users with mercury or other toxic metals in their facility waste streams, said Rick Skaggs, PNNL commercialization head.
According to Skaggs, SAMMS can be easily adapted to also recover many other toxic substances, including lead, chromium, and arsenic, as well as radionuclides.