Metallic contamination removal

O. J. Anttila and M. V. Tilli, Metal contamination removal on silicon wafers using dilute acidic solutions, J. Electrochem. Soc. 139, 1751, 1992. 

Abumaizar, R. J., and Smith, E. H. (1999). Heavy metal contaminants removal by soil washing. J. Hazard. Mater. 70(1-2), 71-86. 

Because of the development of electronic appHcations for WF, higher purities of WF have been required, and considerable work has been done to improve the existing manufacturing and purification processes (20). Most metal contaminants and gaseous impurities are removed from WF by... 

The finer soil fraction contains adsorbed organics, small metallic particles, and bound ionic metals. This fraction may be treated further to remove the contaminants, or it may be incinerated or landfilled. The "clean" coarse fraction may contain some residual metallic fragments. With metal contamination, both the fine and coarse soil fractions may be leached with an acid solution to remove the metals. 

Unreacted phosgene is removed from the cmde chloroformates by vacuum stripping or gas purging. Chloroformates of lower primary alcohols are distillable however, heavy-metal contamination should be avoided. As stated earlier, chloroformates generating a stable carbonium ion on decomposition, ie, secondary or tertiary chloroformates or henzylic chloroformates, are especially unstable in the presence of heavy metals and more specifically Lewis acids and, hence, should be distilled at as low a temperature and high vacuum as possible. 

Chemical leaching (1,12) with acids is used to extract metal contamination. High purity zirconia, Zr02, is produced by the caustic fusion of zircon [14475-73-1], ZrSiO, foUowed by the chemical removal of sUica. Chemical leaching is generaUy foUowed by washing. 

Nickel plating solutions may contain excess iron and unknown organic contaminants. Iron is removed by peroxide oxidation, precipitation at a pH of about 5, then filtered out. The more complex, less water-soluble organic contaminants along with some trace metals are removed with activated carbon treatments in separate treatment tanks. About 5 g/L of plating-grade activated carbon is mixed in the plating solution for at least 1—2 hours, usually at warmer temperatures. 

Heavy metal contamination of pH buffers can be removed by passage of the solutions through a Chelex X-100 column. For example when a solution of 0.02M HEPES [4-(2-HydroxyEthyl)Piperazine-l-Ethanesulfonic acid] containing 0.2M KCl (IL, pH 7.5) alone or with calmodulin, is passed through a column of Chelex X-100 (60g) in the K" " form, the level of Ca ions falls to less than 2 x 10" M as shown by atomic absorption spectroscopy. Such solutions should be stored in polyethylene containers that have been washed with boiling deionised water (5min) and rinsed several times with deionised water. TES [, N,N, -Tetraethylsulfamide] and TRIS [Tris-(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane] have been similarly decontaminated from metal ions. 

Chemical pretreatment is often used to improve the performance of contaminant removal. The use of chemical flocculants is based on system efficiency, the specific DAF application and cost. Commonly used chemicals include trivalent metallic salts of iron, such as FeClj or FeSO or aluminum, such as AISO. Organic and inorganic polymers (cationic or anionic) are generally used to enhance the DAF process. 

Similar to other types of water treatment, AC filtration is effective for some contaminants and not effective for others. AC filtration does not remove microbes, sodium, nitrates, fluoride, and hardness. Lead and other heavy metals are removed only by a very specific type of AC filter. Unless the manufacturer states that its product will remove heavy metals, one should assume that the AC filter is not effective in removing them. 

The uncertain effects of impurities are avoided by periodic or continuous electrolysis of the solution at low current densities to remove metallic contaminants and by filtration through active carbon to remove organic substances. A concise review of the effects of impurities and their removal is given by Greenall and Whittington". 

The relatively impure crude Ca obtained from both thermal reduction and electrolytic sources (97-98%) is distilled to give a 99% pure product. Volatile impurities such as the alkali metals are removed in a predistillation mode at 800°C subsequent distillation of the bulk metal at 825-850°C under vacuum removes most of the involatile impurities, such as Al, Cl, Fe and Si. The N content is often not reduced because of atmospheric contamination after distillation. Unfortunately, these commercial methods have no effect on Mg, which is the major impurity (up to 1 wt%). Typical analytical data for Ca samples prepared by electrolysis, thermal reduction (using Al) and distillation are collated in Table 1. 

At many plants, fluxes are added to the metal to reduce hydrogen contamination, remove oxides, and eliminate undesirable trace elements. Solid fluxes such as hexachloroethane, aluminum chloride, and anhydrous magnesium chloride may be used, but it is more common to bubble gases such as chlorine, nitrogen, argon, helium, and mixtures of chlorine and inert gases through the molten metal. 

Biological activity can be used in two ways for the bioremediation of metal-contaminated soils to immobilize the contaminants in situ or to remove them permanently from the soil matrix, depending on the properties of the reduced elements. Chromium and uranium are typical candidates for in situ immobilization processes. The bioreduction of Cr(VI) and Ur(VI) transforms highly soluble ions such as CrO and UO + to insoluble solid compounds, such as Cr(OH)3 and U02. The selenate anions SeO are also reduced to insoluble elemental selenium Se°. Bioprecipitation of heavy metals, such as Pb, Cd, and Zn, in the form of sulfides, is another in situ immobilization option that exploits the metabolic activity of sulfate-reducing bacteria without altering the valence state of metals. The removal of contaminants from the soil matrix is the most appropriate remediation strategy when bioreduction results in species that are more soluble compared to the initial oxidized element. This is the case for As(V) and Pu(IV), which are transformed to the more soluble As(III) and Pu(III) forms. This treatment option presupposes an installation for the efficient recovery and treatment of the aqueous phase containing the solubilized contaminants. 

Ion exchange is effective for the removal of cationic or anionic heavy metal contaminants. It can also be used for water softening. Ion-exchange resins are usually regenerable with salt.65... 

In the decomposer, deionized water reacts with the amalgam, which becomes the anode to a short-circuited cathode. The caustic soda produced is stored or evaporated, if higher concentration is required. The hydrogen gas is cooled by refrigeration to remove water vapor and traces of mercury. Some of these techniques are employed in different facilities to maximize the production of chlorine, minimize the consumption of NaCl, and also to prevent the buildup of impurities such as sulfate in the brine.26 The production of pure chlorine gas and pure 50% sodium hydroxide with no need for further concentration of the dilute solution is the advantage that the mercury cell possesses over other cells. However, the cell consumes more energy and requires a very pure brine solution with least metal contaminants and above all requires more concern about mercury releases into the environment.4... 

Before reaction, the silica is treated with acid (eg refluxed for a few hours with 0.1 mol dm-3 HC1). This treatment produces a high concentration of reactive silanol groups at the silica surface, and also removes metal contamination and fines from the pores of the material. After drying, the silica is then refluxed with the dimethylchlorosi-lane in a suitable solvent, washed free of unreacted silane and dried. This reaction produces what is called a monomeric bonded phase, as each molecule of the silylating agent can react with only one silanol group. 

Tseng et al. [69] determined 60cobalt in seawater by successive extractions with tris(pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate) bismuth (III) and ammonium pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate and back-extraction with bismuth (III). Filtered seawater adjusted to pH 1.0-1.5 was extracted with chloroform and 0.01 M tris(pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate) bismuth (III) to remove certain metallic contaminants. The aqueous residue was adjusted to pH 4.5 and re-extracted with chloroform and 2% ammonium pyrrolidine thiocarbamate, to remove cobalt. Back-extraction with bismuth (III) solution removed further trace elements. The organic phase was dried under infrared and counted in a ger-manium/lithium detector coupled to a 4096 channel pulse height analyser. Indicated recovery was 96%, and the analysis time excluding counting was 50-min per sample. 

DEMET (2) A process for removing metal contaminants from spent FCC catalysts by a series of pyrometallurgical and hydrometallurgical procedures. These typicaly include calcination, chlorination, and sulfiding. The demetallized catalyst can be re-used. Developed by ChemCat Corporation, LA, in 1988 first operated commercially in New Jersey in 1989. Now operated by Coastal Catalyst Technology. 

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