Design of fixed-bed ion exchange columns for wastewater treatment

Oak Ridge National Laboratory plans to use chabazite zeolites for decontamination of process wastewater which contains ppb levels of Sr-90 and Cs-137. Treatability studies have indicated that chabazite zeolites have high selectivities and loadings for removal of trace amounts of Cs-137 and Sr-90 from wastewater containing high concentrations of calcium and magnesium. These studies also indicated that the efficiency of the zeolite system is dependent on the column design and operating conditions. Results from 20-mL, 566-L, and 3,760-L column tests indicated that the optimized design of full-scale columns could halve the generation rate of loaded zeolite. The corresponding annual waste disposal costs for loaded zeolite generated at the ORNL plant varied from $80,000 to $170,000 based on the present disposal charges of $1400/m{sup 3} indicating that design of zeolite ion exchange systems for minimization of secondary waste is imperative. This report summarizes the results of study to model multicomponent ion-exchange columns. 7 refs., 10 figs., 5 tabs.