Enhanced sedimentation

Uranium deposited by wet or dry precipitation will be deposited on land or in surface waters. If land deposition occurs, the uranium can be reincorporated into soil, resuspended in the atmosphere (typically factors are around 10 ), washed from the land into surface water, incorporated into groundwater, or deposited on or adsorbed onto plant roots Gittle or none enters the plant through leaves or roots). Conditions that increase the rate of formation of soluble complexes and decrease the rate of sorption of labile uranium in soil and sediment enhance the mobility of uranium. Significant reactions of uranium in soil are formation of complexes with anions and hgands (e.g., COj, OH ) or humic acid, and reduction of U" " to U. Other factors that control the mobility of uranium in soil are the oxidation-reduction potential, the pH, and the sorbing characteristics of the sediments and soils (Allard et al. 1979, 1982 Brunskill and Wilkinson 1987 Herczeg et al. 1988 Premuzie et al. 1995). 

Tardimo JA (1995) Superparamagnetism and reduction diagenesis in pelagic sediments Enhancement or depletion Geophys Res Lett 22 1337-1340... 

If we combine these results with the observations made in the study of the effect of sulfuric acid, matrix effects (including side reactions) seem to be the major cause of a suppression of the signal of a methylmercuiy standard solution in the presence of a sediment sample. The decrease in the signal by the addition of increased amounts of sediment to a spike could be interpretated as an increased adsorption of methylmercuiy on the sediment. Larger amounts of sulfuric acid must then remobihse, at least partially, the mercury fraction which disappeared on the increased sediment surface. On the contrary, however, higher amounts of sulfuric acid decrease still more the signal. A better explanation is that the additional amount of sediment enhances the matrix effect. 

There are two essential consequences of this relation. Because larger droplets sediment or rise much faster (a 5-p.m drop rises 625 times faster than a 0.2-p.m droplet), the process is equal to shearing, leading to enhanced flocculation. The ratio between flocculation due to shear and to diffusion of droplets is proportional to the cube of the radius. Secondly, flocculation to droplet aggregates means an enhanced sedimentation rate. Sis drops ia an octahedral arrangement gives approximately four times the sedimentation rate. 

Coagulation involves the addition of chemicals to alter the physical state of dissolved and suspended solids. This facilitates their removal by sedimentation and filtration. The most common primary coagulants are alum ferric sulfate and ferric chloride. Additional chemicals that may be added to enhance coagulation include activate silica, a complex silicate made from sodium silicate, and charged organic molecules called polyelectrolytes, which include large-molecular-weight polyacrylamides, dimethyl-diallylammonium chloride, polyamines, and starch. 

Coagulation, flocculation, sedimentation, and filtration will remove many contaminants. Perhaps most important is the reduction of turbidity. This treatment yields water of good clarity and enhances disinfection efficiency. If particles are not removed, they harbor bacteria and make fmal disinfection more difficult. 

Remediation activities at American Thermostat included the excavation and thermal treatment of over 13,000 cubic yards of soil and sediments contaminated primarily with perchloroethylene, trichloroethylene, and solvents. The soil was excavated and treated using a thermal treatment unit called the low-temperature enhanced volatilization facility (LTEVF). The performance test for the site s thermal unit had just been completed at the time of the inspection, so there was limited activity. 

The principle of the solid bowl centrifuge is illustrated in Figure 4.19. It is essentially a device for enhancing the rate of sedimentation. The application of high G, however, creates stress in the machine and is equivalent to the application of pressure (cf. pressure filtration). There is therefore a balance to be struck between separating effect and stress. 

Ingall, E. D. and Jahnke, R. A. (1994). Evidence for enhanced phosphorus regeneration from marine sediments overlain by oxygen depleted waters. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 58, 2571-2575. 

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