Mercury Removal in Suspended Solid Applications using Magnetic Thiol-SAMMS® Adsorbent

Summary:

Magnetic Thiol-SAMMS (THFL*) is an adsorbent specifically designed to capture and remove mercury from waste streams with suspended solids. The fast kinetics, high loading capacity and strong covalent bonding place SAMMS as one of the best technologies to remove mercury. The magnetic moment of THFL allows the adsorbent to be separated and removed from the waste stream after remediation using commercially available magnetic separation technology.

Significant Benefits:

  1. Removal of Adsorbent – The magnetic moment of Thiol-SAMMS liquid version with ferrite substrate (THFL) allows the adsorbent to be separated and removed from the waste stream after remediation by using commercially available magnetic separation technology.
  2. Loading Capacity - The typical capacity of THFL derived from the adsorption isotherm is 0.1 – 0.3 grams Hg/gram of the adsorbent for terminal equilibrium [Hg] of 100-200 ppm.
  3. Kinetics – The kinetics of THFL are slower than Thiol-SAMMS for liquid silica substrate (THSL-01) but are still fast compared to other traditional mercury adsorbents. Absolute mercury reduction is dependent on the chemical conditions of the solution. THFL is a very good alternative, when a trade off can be made in kinetics in order to achieve recovery of adsorbent. Optimal kinetics is typically achieved from 4 to 8 pH and good results are obtained from a pH of ~3 to 12.
    4. Figure 1

    Figure 1 provides an example of the kinetics of Magnetic Thiol-SAMMS at starting mercury concentration of 10,000 ppb.

  4. Selectivity – Most cations and anions have a minimal impact on SAMMS performance. THFL is highly selective for mercury and other “soft” heavy metals such as silver, gold, cadmium, copper and lead. It also shows activity towards iodine
  5. Adsorption Capabilities – THFL can covalently bond to capture and remove mercury or the target soft, heavy metal from contaminated liquid waste streams regardless of the concentration of suspended solids.
  6. Cost of Disposal – THFL is a cost effective alternative to other commercially available sorbents. Compared to other sorbents, SAMMS is able to adsorb large quantities of mercury with little solid waste generated for disposal.

Material Properties:

  • Bulk Density – The bulk density for THFL is approximately 0.8 – 0.9 g/cc.
  • Average Particle Size – Approximately 40 microns

Please refer to the General information sheet for Thiol-SAMMS®.

* Patent Pending