[Dodp3] Zeolites and Hydrocarbons and Heavy metals

[Ron Hull]

Hello All

Would like to share and get your feedback on a little issue I have been
looking into(Read: Time to pick your brains again).

Our wheel and tire shop has been busting the sanitary sewer disposal limits
for the last few months on

Chromium	mg / Kg (ppm)	105.0
Lead		mg / Kg (ppm)	36.0
Arsenic	mg / Kg (ppm)	29.4
Barium	mg / Kg (ppm)	36.4
Cadmium	mg / Kg (ppm)	94.2
Mercury	mg / Kg (ppm)	<0.001
Selenium	mg / Kg (ppm)	458.0
Silver	mg / Kg (ppm)	4.6
Total Hydrocarbons	mg / L	514

I have looked at various methods,  Electro coagulation seemed very hopeful
at first but would require an alteration of the ph of the process bath to
enable the "flow" of electrons from positive to negative
terminals.....scratch that one.

Nanofiltration was too expensive

Exorcism was cheap but didn't do diddly to the contamination  ( ok just
kidding )

I looked at major corporations such as Rayovac and Motorola and requested
info from them but their processes were only economical at very large
scales.

Also requested info from about 8 water filtration companies but again their
process was geared toward the million gallon to billion gallon a year range
to become viable  ( and I don't need the water drinkable just reusable)

Thought I had an answer in thermo / evaporation techniques, but alas, the
Florida Department of Environmental Protection holds that evaporating the
water out of the solution would be considered treatment.

Read about sargasum weed ( Yeah the seaweed ) being a very effective agent
for capturing heavy metals but it was just recently noted and no one is
doing anything commercial with it ( and I cant swim that well so drop that
idea )

Looked at a HydroCyclone machine and while it would effectively remove the
oil ( and considering density and viscosity of the detergent the detergent
as well ) it would not touch the metals in solution and eventually they
would build up to become a health concern.

Looked at the MART corporation's EQ-1 as a method for "enflockulation" ( I
would call it precipitation but that's just me I guess) of the contaminates,
sent samples but thus far no results from the MART corporation.

Looked at zeolites,  ( Google search for water treatment turned up
zeolites ) and that led to the FABCO Industry's PureFlow FS-55.  This piece
of equipment was tested at Edwards AFB and Niagara Falls ANG base on
different applications ( Mop water and Engine Compressor washing )  So I
sent them a sample ( initial results above ) and they turned out this
						% reduced	Allowable for sanitary sewer??
Chromium	mg / Kg (ppm)	0.44	99.58%	YES
Lead		mg / Kg (ppm)	0.01	99.97%	YES
Arsenic	mg / Kg (ppm)	0.16	99.46%	YES
Barium	mg / Kg (ppm)	0.12	99.67%	YES
Cadmium	mg / Kg (ppm)	2.69	97.14%	NO
Mercury	mg / Kg (ppm)Not detected N/A		YES
Selenium	mg / Kg (ppm)	0.01	100.00%	YES
Silver	mg / Kg (ppm)	0.01	99.78%	YES
pH						8.67 - 8.84	 * pH varied by sample
Total Hydrocarbons	mg / L	Undeterminable

It appears that the remaining hydrocarbons are still emulsified with the
detergent and they can not get an accurate reading on the sample.  I have a
picture that shows the raw material as coal black and the filtered material
as a cloudy yellowish amber.
Side benefit of zeolite filtration was that 59% of the very expensive
detergent remains in solution.  Annual savings estimated at about 12K (
between avoidance of disposal and retention of the detergent ) This savings
includes the new operating costs incurred by purchasing the zeolite filter
media.....Soooo

brain picking time,

Who else has had this type of problem?

What was your solution?

Have I missed an obvious solution pursuing this one?
( I did consider the thought of slipping the water into a nuclear waste site
and let them deal with it, but no one would loan me a large enough
truck...*sighs* )

As I said before I am not looking to make this drinkable and the retention
of the detergent was a bonus if looking at reuse of the process bath,  if I
am looking at disposing of the material a bit of additional filtration would
probably lower the cadmium enough to allow for sanitary sewer disposal, and
still save some money, but I worry that I am missing something here.

The zeolites capture the metals and in doing so release on a 2 for one basis
ions of potassium and sodium so we are looking as most 1000 ppm of sodium /
potassium.  A material researcher I have spoken with doesn't see that as a
concern.  ( Water softeners do the same thing and that's before you drink
the water!)  I wouldn't think it would be but thought that this might reach
someone with the knowledge to verify or raise a flag on it.

 Do you think this is a viable solution?

Do you think I spend too much time at home working on this stuff?  ( Putting
on lead lined vest to protect from the wife's glare)

Any feedback would be appreciated  (especially if its pointers on how to
sooth an angry spouse! )

Thanks
Ron