The benefit of concentration of active species from very large volumes of waste or wash water has long been realised in the nuclear industry. AEA Technology have developed an exciting suite of alternative treatment processes using electrical fields to elute ion-exchange resins, recover metals and enhance phase separations. The concentration factor achievable is thereby reduced and significant storage and usage of caustic and nitric acid is required. These building blocks have been developed and proven on projects at our own sites and those of customers worldwide. The modular design of the units makes the uncertainty associated with scale up less important.
Processes are complementary and are easily cascaded to give a total solution to effluent problems.