Project Description

EPA Environmental laboratory needed for bench-scale testing of a client?s wastewater treatment procedure. Client runs a metals finishing operation where they apply a chromate conversion coating to aluminum. Their wastewater is high in hexavalent chromium which they are able to remove by reducing it to Cr(III) and precipitating it as a hydroxide. Their current procedure seems to work well for this purpose. Recently they have been having some issues with high total cyanide results in their treated effluent, I suspect that the cyanide is coming from their chromating solution which contains potassium ferricyanide as an accelerant. Based on what I have read, the ferri- and ferrocyanide complexes can be difficult to treat since they are very soluble and are not amenable to chlorination. I did find some promising literature that suggests these complexes could be removed using activated carbon, and I am wondering if carbon could be incorporated into their existing treatment procedure somehow.

I am looking for someone to replicate their treatment procedure using samples of their waste, with and without the addition of carbon in order to see if this strategy will work. Their treatment procedure is relatively simple, and we would provide the carbon sample for testing.