Results of Small-Scale Tests for Removing Mercury from ORNL Process Wastewater

Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) received a new National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Permit from the state of Tennessee in 1997. This permit reduced the limit for mercury in the effluent from the Process Wastewater Treatment Complex - Building 3608 (PWTC-3608) to 19 ppt for the monthly average, which is well below the current effluent concentration. The mercury limit is being appealed, so it is not currently being enforced, but experimental work is being done to determine if it is possible to meet this new limit. Various mercury sorbents were evaluated in small, continuous-flow columns. The first set of sorbent tests that were conducted at PWTC-3608 in August 1997 showed excellent mercury removal by the Forager Sponge, even at high flow rates. Subsequent tests, however, showed that the mercury removal by the Forager Sponge, even at high flow rates. Subsequent tests, however, showed that the mercury removal efficiency of the sorbents varied considerably over time, probably as a result of changes in the form of the mercury in the wastewater. A significant portion of the mercury in PWTC-3608 water was bound to small particles during the later tests, which made the mercury less accessible to the sorbents. Chlorination of the water, which could convert the mercury to an ionic form, improved the performance of some of the sorbents