Development of an eco-friendly adsorbent for selective removal of selenium in uranium mining wastewater

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Over the past decade, the presence of selenium (Se) due to mining operations has become an increasingly serious quality and health concern in waters worldwide. Despite the nutritional benefits of Se, its excess can cause short-term and long-term effects in humans, individual plants and animals, and populations and communities of organisms. To safeguard both human and environmental health from risk of excess Se, the mining waste streams need to be treated prior to their release to the environment. The current research project aims to use agricultural residue-based materials (e.g., wheat and canola straws) as a cost-effective and eco-friendly alternative to the more expensive commercial adsorbents (e.g., resins and activated carbons) for removal of Se. Agricultural residues in Canada can provide an abundant source to develop inexpensive adsorbents and benefit the agricultural economy by increasing the value of the agricultural residues. Investigation of the application of these biomass-based adsorbents will potentially reduce the cost of treatment of Se, and other metal(loid)s, in mining wastewater.In the current research, we will develop biomass-based adsorbents that will selectively remove Se by adsorption from mining wastewater. Selective adsorption will shorten the adsorption equilibrium time and extend the time of continuous operation for an efficient process at a lower cost. These low-cost adsorbents may also be suitable for use in other regions of Canada in mining or other industries and even in developing countries that are facing high concentrations of Se in water. The know-how and technology that will be developed through this project has the potential to be adapted for the development of biomass-based adsorbents for other metal(loid)s or emerging pollutants. In addition, considering the cost-effectiveness of the biomass-based adsorbents as compared to commercial adsorbents, significant growth in demand is predicted for their use in the water and wastewater treatment market.