Liquid purification or separation – Particulate material type separator – e.g. – ion exchange or... – With spaced non-particulate separating means
Patent
1995-11-27
1997-09-02
Nessler, Cynthia L.
Liquid purification or separation
Particulate material type separator, e.g., ion exchange or...
With spaced non-particulate separating means
210282, 210290, 210799, 210924, C02F 128
Patent
active
056628013
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to the removal of organic compounds from columns of air or water.
Currently, the most common methods of managing contaminated air and water columns utilize sorbent filtering devices comprised of non-woven fabric materials, such as polypropylene, or relying on filtration systems utilizing activated carbon to remove the organic compound pollutants from the candidate feed streams. For a variety of reasons, the effectiveness of these methods ranges from marginal to unsatisfactory.
The exertion of only a small amount of pressure is required to release the contaminants from the spent non-woven textile devices, making this option a messy and labor intensive means of dealing with the polluted feed streams. It also presents a problem when addressing the issue of disposal of the non-woven textile sorbent devices and the sorbed organics.
Activated carbon is also used to extract organic compounds from fluid columns. Feed streams containing organic compounds tend to glaze the surface of the activated carbon with a coat of the organic pollutants, reducing the rate of absorption and the effectiveness of the carbon as a filtration media. This results in the carbon filtration media being frequently replaced, thus increasing costs associated with the extraction of the organic compounds from the feed streams and generating a large volume of contaminated filtration media for processing and disposal.
In many instances, these methods of dealing with organic compound pollutants result merely in the contaminants being transferred to a different environment, where they must once again be processed for disposal.
The prior art methods of dealing with organic contaminants in air and water columns are harmful to the environment in that the issue of proper disposal of the free flowing contaminants after filtration remains. The use of sorbent devices is labor intensive, time consuming, messy and often results in the sorbed pollutants being disposed of in a landfill or creating expensive disposal problems. The free release of pollutants into a landfill facility accomplishes little more than converting the pollutant from an air or water borne contaminant into a land contaminant.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with the present invention, a process for removing organic compounds and suspended metals from columns of air or water utilizes a solidifying organic polymer. Optionally, activated carbon may be placed in a separate filter container and configured in an in-line filtration system with the solidifying polymer. The organic compounds and some metals are absorbed from the contaminated fluid column as it passes through a stratified arrangement of packaged organic solidifying polymer in a container. The fluid column is then introduced to a second container enclosing a stratified arrangement of activated carbon where it extracts any remaining metals and "polishes" the feed stream.
In accordance with the present invention, a method is provided which will not only extract organic compounds from polluted air and water columns, but will also quickly and irreversibly absorb and solidify the organics into an easily retrievable, solid rubber-like mass. The solidified organic compounds will not leach when exposed to pressure limits currently used to determine landfill acceptability. Additionally, the solidified organics may be incinerated as fuel for their BTU content, or used as a component in the production of asphalt, roofing material or other tar-like compounds.
As such, the solidified mass eliminates the storage and mass transfer concerns associated with contaminated fluid columns, thus substantially reducing capital and operating costs associated with existing methods of dealing with contaminated fluids columns.
The present method utilizes a system wherein a feed stream containing organic contaminants is exposed to a plurality of stratified layers of filtration media, each layer containing an organic solidifying polymer. The polymer has the property of solidifying organic co
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