The technology provides a potential remedy for some of the world's most challenging environmental problems. According to Los Alamos' Tom Robison, a co-investigator on the project, there are thousands of abandoned mine sites in the United States alone. To address this problem, we developed a technology to remove toxic metal contaminants such as lead from acid mine drainage and, in the process, recover the economically valuable metals, like silver, copper and zinc. Typically these metals are lost in conventional remediation processes. Known as Polymer Filtration, the patented Los Alamos technology couples unique water-soluble polymers with a process known as ultrafiltration.
Scientists use a homogeneous polymer solution that binds with metal ions in the wastewater.
After the polymer binds to the metal ions, the polymer-metal combination is filtered and concentrated using ultrafiltration. At process end, clean water is discharged and the metals are recovered for disposal or refining when the pH of the polymer solution is changed and the metal ions come unbound. Since the polymers are recycled back into the polymer filtration system, there is no secondary waste or sludge stream - unlike that produced by hydroxide precipitation wastewater treatments. Perhaps most importantly, instead of working with individual batches the technology is designed to be an in-line treatment so it can rapidly and continuously process mine wastewater. Polymer filtration operates at low pressure and low temperature.