Removal of Trace-Level Mercury from Surface Water

摘要

The removal of mercury from slipstreams of water from a creek and from a wastewater treatment plant has been studied in the field. Two types of column studies were performed with different mercury sorbents - a short-term study that yielded information about the kinetic behavior of different sorbents in a column configuration, and a long-term study that was used to obtain information about long-term performance. The results indicate that sorbents containing thiol functional groups gave the best performance in both the short- and long-term studies. The results also indicate that water pretreatment may be an effective option to ensure that the mercury is free and oxidized. This approach may be a necessity when target levels of ng/L are desired.