CLEANSING CONTAMINANTS FROM A HETEROGENEOUS MATERIAL USING A SORPTION AGENT

Abstract: There is described a process for cleansing contaminants, such as oil, PCB, PAH, heavy metals and the like, from a heterogeneous material, such as sand, gravel, earth, oil gravel, asphalt, drill borings ("kaks") and the like. More specifically the invention relates to a process comprising the steps: i) that a sorption agent is added to the material, and that the material and the sorption agent are mixed/kneaded sufficiently for a considerable portion of the contamination to be extracted from the material and absorbed by the sorption agent, and that ii) thereafter the sorption agent is separated from the material on the basis of specific gravity/particle size by means of an applied flow of gas, so that the sorption agent is led with the flow and can be collected in a separate fraction.

Description: CLEANSING CONTAMINANTS FROM A HETEROGENEOUS MATERIAL USING A SORPΗON AGENT The present invention relates to a process for cleansing contaminants, such as oil, PCB, PAH, heavy metals, lipids and the like from a heterogeneous material, such as sand, gravel, earth, oil gravel, asphalt, drill borings ("kaks") , sewage sludge and the like. Contamination of dissimilar materials for example in connection with industrial equipment, dump locations or beaches which are contaminated by for example an oil spill, is a well known and increasing problem, and large resources are employed to find solutions to purifying such masses. The solutions must be able to be carried out practically and economically. Several reports describe big environmental problems connected with such contaminated materials. In this connection various hydrocarbon com- pounds are often mentioned such as oil-like compounds, hydrocarbons which either have coupled on chlorine or bromine groups (PCB) , or dissimilar types of aromatic com¬ pounds (PAH) . The said compounds are all soluble in non- polar solvents. That is to say they are dissolved slightly in water, and in an association that will be energetically favourable to exclude water. By virtue of the water-re¬ pelling property these media will readily adhere to solid surfaces, such as stone, gravel and earth. Furthermore water which runs through these materials will not wash away or dilute these hydrophobic solvents. A number of locations are mapped where such cont¬ aminated materials constitute a significant environmental problem. In addition to the materials consisting of hydro- phobic contaminants they will also consist of various heavy metals, which because of their toxicity also re¬ present an environmental problem. To-day it is usual to "clean" such dump materials by combusting the contamination of the stone materials. How¬ ever this is very expensive since the costs of such burning off is related to the weight of the materials and to the combustion value, that is to say how much energy which can be utilised by such a combustion. Materials from industrial sites or dumps consist mainly of stone/gravel, that is to say the weight is high and the combustion value low. There is therefore a need for alternative solutions. Such a solution is described in PCT/NO96/00185 which re¬ lates to a sorption agent comprising the plant family Sphagnum for the sorption of hydrophobic compounds where the sphagnum plant is substantially wholly or partially dried. The publication also describes the application of the plant material for removing hydrophobic compounds from solutions and emulsions, together with it being employed directly on materials which are contaminated with hydro- phobic compounds by being rubbed against the material. For example it is mentioned that the plant material can be rubbed directly against an oil spill for example in a workshop hall. However there are other problems which must be solved in order to cleanse contaminants from a heterogeneous material, such as stone and earth. In such materials the oil is an integrated part of the material, that is to say it envelops and sticks together with the dissimilar com¬ ponents of the material so that it becomes a relatively viscous, tacky material. Furthermore the material is formed of particles of relatively small size so that one cannot apply the moss for example to "dry" the particles as one for example can dry off a workshop floor. The present invention aims therefore to produce a solution for cleansing such materials. When an effective absorptive or adsorptive material is added to a material, and the material and the sorption material are kneaded and tumbled together a certain time, the contaminants will, whether they are hydrophobic compounds or for example heavy metals, be transferred from the material to the sorption agent, assuming that the sorption agent has stronger ad- and/or absorptive properties than the material, and that the compounds are detached from the material by the friction which is created during the kneading/tumbling process, or by means of water/solvents. Even for an effective sorption agent this will not be added if the contaminants are solidified and very strongly fixed to particles of the material. Also this problem is aimed to be solved with the present invention. A further problem in the cleaning of such materials is that the material, such as sand, gravel and earth, with respect to the size of the particles constitutes a hetero¬ geneous mixture, and often comprising a significant pro- portion of smaller particles, right down to a size of only some few microns in diameter. A problem which cannot be solved with the afore-mentioned invention is therefore separating the sorption agent from these in part very small particles. The present invention therefore aims to solve this problem also. The present invention describes therefore a procesε for cleaning various types of materials, such as for example fill materials, gravel, earth and the like by removing the dissimilar contaminants, such as hydrophobic contaminants as for example oil, PCB and PAH, and heavy metals from the materials. By the term "material" is designated any type of material, such as fill material, oil gravel, asphalt, drill cake, sewage sludge, gravel, sand, earth and the like. The term "sorption agent" designates an agent which has absorptive and/or absorptive properties, that is to say properties for absorbing a compound or adhering to the surface, and/or integrated in the structure of the agent. The term "solid contaminants" designates contaminants which are relatively strongly adhered to the material. Typically such solid contaminants must be dissolved from the material by applying a non-polar and/or polar solvent . The present invention describes a process which is characterised by the steps: c) that a sorption agent is added to the material, and that the material and the sorption agent are mixed/kneaded sufficiently for a considerable portion of the contaminant to be extracted from the material and absorbed by the sorption agent, and that e) the sorption agent is thereafter separated from the material on the basis of specific gravity/particle size by means of an applied gas flow, such as a stream of air, so that the sorption agent is led with the flow and can be collected in a separate fraction. Further modifications of the invention are evident from the steps: a) which consists in adding to the material a non-polar solvent, which dissolves "solid" contaminants in the material and makes them soluble in the fluid fraction, and that thereafter the fluid fraction is separated from the material, for example by filtration, decanting, centri¬ fuging and the like, and b) which consists in adding to the material a polar solvent, such a water, added to one or more detergents, which dissolve "solid" contaminants so that these are made soluble in the fluid fraction, and that thereafter the fluid fraction is separated from the material, for example by filtering, decanting, centrifuging and the like and d) which consists in drying the material for example by applying an air flow, and/or that the material is heated. More specific solutions and embodiments are indicated in the claims 9 - 19. A preferred embodiment is therefore to mix together the sorption agent and a contaminated material so that the contaminants are transferred to the sorption agent. Preferably this is carried out in a rotating drum. For the mixing/kneading to be effective it is an advantage, but not a necessity, that the drum is equipped with a number of blades, so that the material and the agent are thoroughly mixed. When a sufficient quantity of the cont¬ aminant is transferred to the sorption agent these two fractions must be separated from each other. According to the invention this is carried out by blowing a current of air through the mixture. One way this can be carried out is that the drum with blades rotate during the blowing operation. The blades will then lift the material so that separation is made more efficient. Alternatively the current of air can for example be blown directly through the mixture. The strength of the air current is adapted to the two fractions which are to be separated. Various types of sorption agents, such as chemical or biological, can be utilised. A preferred solution is to employ bark, peat or moss since these are materials which have a low specific gravity, and are both combustible and biologically degradable. The greater the difference is be¬ tween the specific gravity of the particles in the material and the specific gravity of the particles of the sorption agent, the more effective is the separation pro¬ cess, that is to say the smaller the strength of the air flow that is required for blowing off the sorption agent, and the smaller the proportion of the smallest particles in the material that will be transferred to the sorption agent fraction. In addition to specific gravity the par¬ ticle size is an important parameter in the separation process, and it has been found that if the sorption agent particles are of small size so the separation is more effective. If the sorption agent is for example moss so it will be more favourable to cut this up into small par- tides. In addition to the direct mixing of material with sorption agent it will be favourable in a number of cases to add a solvent to the material to dissolve and remove a portion of the contaminants before the sorption agent is added. Both non-polar and/or polar solvents can be utilised, and the sequence is determined from the type of contaminant which is to be cleansed from the material. When the solvent has taken effect for a time on the material, generally during the tumbling/kneading where length depends on the type of contaminant and solvent, the fluid fraction is separated from the solid particles with filtering, centrifuging, decanting or in another manner. In order to increase the solubility of the cont¬ aminants it is often favourable to heat the mixture of material and solvent. This is carried out in a known manner, not indicated further. After the material is treated with solvent, one or more times, so the sorption agent is added. The mixture is kneaded/tumbled so that the sorption agent absorbs the contaminant, and possibly residues of solvent. Thereafter it can be favourable to reduce the moisture content of the sorption agent before the separation process starts. This can be carried out either by air drying, for example by blowing an air current into the mixture, or by heating the mixture, for example due to the drum being equipped with a heating element, possibly a combination of these methods. The cleansing process according to the invention is specified in some illustrating examples. Example 1 7962 grams of a black, viscous and sticky oil gravel, consisting of particles of an order of magnitude of 5 - 50 LO LO to to H 1 O LΠ o LΠ o Lπ completely clean, free from oil and moss, while the moss fraction is free of gravel particles. However there is a slight odour of oil from the gravel particle fraction. Example 3 Ditch gravel (10832 grams) , of the same type as above, is added to Troll crude oil (699 grams) . To this mixture there is added a mixture of water (1056 grams) and washing agent, of the Zalo type, (101 grams) . The mixture is mixed/kneaded in a rotating drum for 10 minutes. Thereafter the water is removed. Run off 5 minutes. To the mixture is added 684 grams moss, and it is tumbled for 10 minutes. The moss fraction is blown off. The gravel mixture appears completely clean, and no odour of oil is observed from this fraction now. The moss is free of gravel particles. In relation to Example 2 the extra washing step which is introduced has caused the moss to become somewhat cleaner. The reason for this is that the detergent/water mixture which is employed dissolves, that is to say makes water- soluble, the oil fraction which is most strongly adhered to the gravel particles. Example 4 Brown earth (11312 grams) having a particle size in the range of from 0.1 - 10 mm, and having a moisture content of about 15% is added to Troll - crude oil (953 grams) . To this mixture is added 794 grams moss in parti¬ culate form. There is tumbling for 20 minutes, after which the moss is blown off. The earth fraction appears com¬ pletely clean, only a slight odour of oil, and consists of spherical particles (0.2 - 1 cm) . The moss fraction does not contain earth particles. The Example with earth is conducted in order to illustrate how for example sewage sludge can be treated in order to cleanse this for example of heavy metals. The Examples show that a process in accordance with the LO LO to to M μ> O LΠ o LΠ o LΠ LD i a t s LO KJ to μ> μ 1 σ o LΠ o LΠ CQ Ω o TJ Φ OJ 3 DJ μ- D- Φ Ui 0 hh rt rr Φ μ- 3 < Φ 3 rt μ- O 3

Claims: Patent Claims 1. Process for cleansing contaminants, such as oil, PCB, PAH, heavy metals, lipids and the like, from a heterogeneous material, such as sand, gravel, earth, oil gravel, asphalt, drill borings ("kaks") , sewage sludge and the like characterised in that the process comprises the steps: c) that a sorption agent is added to the material, and that the material and sorption agent are mixed/kneaded sufficiently for a considerable portion of the contaminant to be extracted from the material and absorbed by the sorption agent, and that e) the sorption agent is thereafter separated from the material on the basis of specific gravity/particle size by means of an applied gas flow, such as a stream of air, so that the sorption agent is led with the flow and can be collected in a separate fraction. 2. Process in accordance with claim 1, characterised in that the process further comprises a step (a) which is carried out before the steps (c) and (e) , in which: (a) consists in adding to the material a non-polar solvent, which dissolves "solid" contaminants in the material and makes these soluble in the fluid fraction, and that the fluid fraction is thereafter separated from the material . 3. Process in accordance with claim 2, characterised in that the process further comprises that the mixing of material and added solvent is heated so as to increase the solubility of the "solid" contaminants. 4. Process in accordance with claim 1, characterised in that the process further comprises, before the steps (c) and (e) , a step (b) , in which: (b) consists in adding to the material a polar solvent, such as water, preferably added to one or more detergents , which dissolve "solid" contaminants so that these become soluble in the fluid fraction, and the fluid fraction is thereafter separated from the material . 5. Process in accordance with claim 4, characterised in that the process further comprises that the mixture of material and added solvent is heated so as to increase the solubility of the "solid" contaminants. 6. Process in accordance with claim 1, characterised in that the process comprises the steps (a) , (b) , (c) and (e) , where the sequence of the steps (a) and (e) is arbitrary. 7. Process in accordance with claim 6, characterised in that the mixture of material and added solvent in one of the steps (a) , (b) , or both two, is heated so as to increase the solubility of "solid" contaminants. 8. Process in accordance with one of the claims 1 - 7, characterised in that the process further comprises, after the steps (a) , (b) and (c) , but before the step (e) , a step (d) , in which : (d) consists in drying the material and the sorption agent for example by applying a stream of air, or that the material is heated. 9. Process in accordance with one of the claims 1 - 8, characterised in that the kneading/ mixing consists in integrating the material and the agent (solvent or sorption agent) in a rotating drum having a speed and a time period which is adapted to the contaminated material which is to be cleansed, and the solvent and/or sorption agent which is utilised. 10. Process in accordance with claim 9, characterised in that the drum rotates with a speed in the range of 5 - 100 revolutions per minute, preferably 20 - 40 revolutions per minute, and that the drum time is from 1 - 600 minutes, preferably 5 - 20 minutes. 11. Process in accordance with one of the claims 1 - 8, characterised in that the non-polar solvent can be any non-polar liquid solvent, or a mixture of several non-polar solvents, such as diesel, paraffin, white spirit, alkanes, alkenes, alkynes, alcohols, organic acids, aromatic compounds and the like. 12. Process in accordance with claim 11, characterised in that the mixture comprising material and non-polar solvent is heated to a temperature which depends on the boiling point of the solvent, the temperature being chosen to be in the range of 0°C to just below the boiling point of the solvent. 13. Process in accordance with one of the claims 1 - 8, characterised in that the polar solvent can preferably be any polar liquid solvent, such as water, added to one or more detergents, such as mixtures like soap, washing agents and the like, or more characterised detergents such as cationic, anionic, zwitterionic or non- polar solvents. 14. Process in accordance with claim 13, characterised in that the material and solvent are heated to a temperature in the range of 0 - 98°C, preferably in the range 30 - 50°C. 15. Process in accordance with one of the claims 1 - 8, characterised in that the sorption agent comprises chemical and/or biological agents, the sorption agent having a specific gravity which is sufficiently less than the specific gravity of the material so that the sorption agent including the contaminant can be blown off, and is separated from the material, with a flow of gas, and that the strength of the gas flow can be adjusted and adapted according to the agent and the properties of the material so that an effective separation is achieved. 16. Process in accordance with claim 15, characterised in that the sorption agent is biologically degradable and/or combustible. 17. Process in accordance with claim 15, characterised in that the sorption agent comprises bark, moss or peat which is in advance partially dried. 18. Process in accordance with claim 16, characterised in that the sorption agent comprise Sphagnum plants and/or peat. 19. Process in accordance with one of the claims 17 - 18, characterised in that the sorption agent is processed so that it consists of particles having a size in the range of 0 - 20 mm, preferably 0.1 - 0.5 mm.

Inventors: BOENES OEYVIND, BOENES, OEYVIND
Applicants: BOENES OEYVIND, SPHAGNUM A S, BOENES, OEYVIND, SPHAGNUM A/S
Application year: 1997
Main classification: B09C1
IPC codes: A62D3, B09B3, B09C1, C02F11