Adsorbent current commercial applications

Researchers at Oregon State University are currently studying apphcations of chitosan beads for the removal of toxic metal ions from wastewater. Chitosan has potential applications to waste removal because it selectively adsorbs toxic Group III transition metal ions in preference to less dangerous alkali or alkaline earth metal ions. The technology has been the focus of bench-scale studies and is not commercially available but it is available for licensing. 

Apatite, a natural calcium fluoride phosphate, can adsorb low to moderate levels of dissolved metals from soils, groundwater, and waste streams. Metals naturally chemically bind to the apatite, forming extremely stable phosphate phases of metal-substituted apatite minerals. This natural process is used by UFA Ventures, Inc., and is called phosphate-induced metals stabilization (PIMS). The PIMS material can by used in a packed bed, mixed with the contaminated media, or used as a permeable barrier. The material may be left in place, disposed of, or reused. It requires no further treatment or stabilization. Research is currently being conducted on using apatite to remediate soil and groundwater contaminated with heavy metals, and the technology may also be applicable to radionuclides. The technology is not yet commercially available. 

Alumina is currently the second most popular adsorbent used in chromatography. It is a good all-purpose adsorbent and is commercially available in a variety of useful forms. A large literature exists on its chromatographic applications. To offset these virtues, alumina has a... 

The commercial separation of air into N2 and O2, an industrially very important process, is achieved by either cryogenic distillation or pressure swing adsorption (PSA). The use of pillared clays forms an interesting alternative for the carbon molecular sieves and zeolites currently applied as adsorbents in PSA techniques. Both the capacity and the selectivity towards air components are very important features in gas adsorption applications. 

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