Investigation into the Viability of Selective Metal Recovery from Waste Streams Containing Low Concentrations of Metal Ions Progress Report

February 2002 by Andrew Jones

1. Introduction The removal of metals from Landfill Leachate and Industrial effluents with low metal ion concentration has proved to be difficult and costly. The main aim of this project is to develop a cost effective process, which can selectively recover metals from a wide range of effluents, but landfill leachate is of particular interest.

Selective recovery of metal in a cost effective manner will be a considerable challenge, but success would produce a very appealing process with three important benefits:

Legislative Compliance Traditional technologies are under pressure coping with already stringent legislation. Redesigning existing systems to meet expected tightening of the legislation would likely entail excessive cost. Therefore novel technologies are being sought to address the problem.

Water Recycling Water has been said to be our most important natural resource. In many regions the cost and availability of water reflect how precious it is, underscoring the need for water conservation and protection. Generally water is more expensive to acquire than ever before, and is more costly to dispose of when contaminated. Removal of metal ions will assist recycling of many effluent streams. Thus financial benefit will be gained from a reduction in the demand for 'fresh' water, and lower disposal costs.

Metal Recovery Discharge of metals to the environment is a waste of dwindling and valuable resources. Recovery of metals from effluent streams is essential to comply with the principles of sustainable development, and may provide a financial credit.

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