Rhamnolipid-Based Remediation Technologies for Uranium and Rare Earth Element Contamination

基于鼠李糖脂的铀和稀土元素污染修复技术

• 批准号: 10010209
• 负责人: Chett J Boxley
• 金额: $ 56万
• 依托单位: GLYCOSURF, INC.
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2020-05-05 至 2022-04-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10010209
• 关键词: Address; Adsorption; Affect; Affinity; Air; Arizona; Biological; Cells; Chinese People; Coal; Collection; Complex; Consult; Data; Department of Energy; Development; Economics; Ecosystem; Electronics; Ensure; Environmental Health; Equilibrium; Evaluation; Excision; Fatty Acids; Feasibility Studies; Glycolipids; Goals; Health; Human; Industry; International; Ions; Left; Ligands; Metals; Minerals; Mining; Modeling; Modernization; Navajo; Outcome; Performance; Phase; Process; Production; Quality Control; Rare Earth Metals; Recovery; Recycling; Research; Resources; Risk; Safety; Sampling; Savings; Site; Small Business Innovation Research Grant; Soil; Solid; Solvents; Source; Surface; Surveys; System; Tail; Technology; Testing; Time; Universities; Update; Uranium; Water; base; commercialization; contaminated water; cost; cost effective; design; drinking water; economic evaluation; efficacy testing; experimental study; interest; new technology; novel; operation; remediation; research and development; rhamnolipid; scale up; surfactant; technology development; wasting; water testing; water treatment

Uranium mining in the U.S. Southwest has left thousands of legacy mining sites with uranium-contaminated soils. These soils are polluting adjacent water and land resources that, in turn, pose serious threats to human and environmental health. On the Navajo Nation alone, there are over 500 abandoned uranium mining sites and 12.8% of tested water sources exceed national drinking water standards. Uranium is also a challenge for modern mining operations as it is often present as a contaminant in mineral processing activities targeting other metals. In addition to uranium, rare earth elements (REE) are also often found as contaminants in coal and some hard- rock mining operations. Due to volatile international markets and Chinese domination of market supply, there is interest in developing alternative REE sources domestically due to the importance of REE to consumer electronics, renewable energy technologies, and national defense. Despite expressed need from the mining industry and federal regulators, technology that is both inexpensive and specific to uranium and REE is lacking. Through Phase I research, GlycoSurf has demonstrated two technologies capable of the selective removal of uranium and REE from complex mining solutions. The first is an ion flotation process wherein GlycoSurf’s propriety surfactants complex with target metals in aerated treatment solutions. Metals are separated from the bulk solutions as the metal-surfactant complex attaches to air bubbles rising to the solution surface for collection as a metal-concentrate foam. The second technology is an adsorbent material generated by functionalizing solid media with GlycoSurf’s proprietary surfactants. In this Phase II project, GlycoSurf’s objective is to demonstrate the commercial potential of these technologies for large water treatment applications by: 1) up-scaling reactor size, 2) developing treatment processes for continuous flow operations and testing, and 3) synthesizing more cost-effective glycolipids. With the University of Arizona and Wayne State University as research partners, GlycoSurf will accomplish this project through 4 aims. Currently, ion flotation has successfully been demonstrated in small-volume batch operation. Aim 1 will develop and up-scale a continuous ion flotation process using real-world metalliferous solutions supplied by BHP mining company and the U.S. Department of Energy. Aim 2 will focus on up-scaling production of rhamnolipid-functionalized adsorbent materials and developing a treatment process that will be challenged using real-world mining solutions. The need to reduce materials costs of GlycoSurf surfactants will be the focus of Aim 3. In this aim, GlycoSurf will focus on cost reductions through: 1) streamlining the synthesis process, 2) use of alternate starting materials, and 3) increasing the scale of production to realize economy-of-scale savings. Aim 4 with examine the economic feasibility and commercial potential of technology developments in this Phase II project using a techno-economic approach.

美国西南部的铀矿开采留下了数千个遗留的采矿场，土壤中含有铀。 这些土壤正在污染邻近的水和土地资源，这反过来又对人类和环境构成严重威胁。 环境卫生。仅在纳瓦霍族，就有500多个废弃的铀矿开采点， 12.8%的检测水源超过国家饮用水标准。铀也是现代科学的挑战 采矿作业，因为它经常作为污染物存在于针对其他金属的矿物加工活动中。 除铀外，稀土元素（REE）也经常作为污染物存在于煤和一些硬矿物中。 岩石采矿作业。由于国际市场波动和中国主导市场供应， 由于稀土元素对消费者的重要性， 电子、可再生能源技术和国防。尽管采矿业表示需要 但是，由于缺乏既便宜又专门针对铀和稀土元素的技术，工业界和联邦监管机构都不清楚。 通过第一阶段的研究，GlycoSurf已经展示了两种能够选择性去除 铀和稀土元素从复杂的采矿解决方案。第一种是离子浮选工艺，其中GlycoSurf的 适当的表面活性剂与曝气处理溶液中的目标金属络合。金属是从 当金属-表面活性剂络合物附着在上升到溶液表面的气泡上时， 作为金属浓缩物泡沫。第二种技术是通过将固体功能化而产生的吸附剂材料， GlycoSurf专有表面活性剂的培养基。在这个第二阶段的项目中，GlycoSurf的目标是证明 这些技术在大型水处理应用中的商业潜力：1）放大反应器 规模，2）开发连续流操作和测试的处理工艺，以及3）合成更多 具有成本效益的糖脂。与亚利桑那大学和韦恩州立大学作为研究伙伴， GlycoSurf将通过四个目标来完成这个项目。目前，离子浮选已成功地应用于 在小批量批量操作中得到证实。目标1将开发和扩大规模的连续离子浮选 过程使用BHP矿业公司和美国能源部提供的真实世界的含金属解决方案。 能源Aim 2将专注于鼠李糖脂功能化吸附材料的大规模生产， 开发一个处理过程，这将是挑战使用现实世界的采矿解决方案。需要减少 GlycoSurf表面活性剂的材料成本将是目标3的重点。在这一目标下，GlycoSurf将专注于成本 通过以下方式减少：1）简化合成工艺，2）使用替代起始材料，3）增加 生产规模，实现规模经济节约。目的4与审查经济可行性和 利用技术经济方法，评估该二期项目技术开发的商业潜力。