2001 Technology for a Sustainable Environment: Toxic and Nutrient Pollution Prevention in the Chesapeake Bay Using Anion Binding Polymeric Hydrogels (TSE01-C)

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CTS- 0124237Toxic and Nutrient Pollution Prevention by Use ofAnion Binding Polymeric HydrogelsPeter Kofinas, University of MarylandABSTRACTMethods that will effectively remove nutrient and toxic anion pollutants even at extremely low concentrations from wastewater effluents are a major environmental need. This work develops an approach that introduces novel crosslinked cationic polymeric materials for removal of such anions from aqueous waste streams. Phosphate, nitrate, and perchlorate-binding polymeric amine hydrogels are being synthesized using various crosslinkers. Their morphology is being characterized by use of atomic force microscopy, and the rate of anion transport as well as anion-binding capacity of these hydrogels is being optimized though testing in various wastewater conditions in batch experiments and lab-scale packed column systems. An economic evaluation of the cost to produce bulk quantities of the polymers will be developed, and the possibilities for adsorbent regeneration or disposal will be explored.This project has local and regional significance within the vicinity of the Chesapeake Bay, but it also addresses national issues important to environmental managers and the general public concerned with the eutrophication of aquatic ecosystems. Missile propellants containing toxic perchlorate anions and poultry farms and aquaculture facilities which discharge nutrient pollutants to natural waters pose a serious pollution problem. The ability of the proposed hydrogels to bind phosphates, nitrates, and perchlorates from such effluents may lead to a cheap and efficient way to remove nutrient and toxic anions in wastewater-generating systems before the water is discharged and to control pollution at the source for some of the most difficult environmental problems facing the U.S.