Provided herein are processes for the removal and/or recovery of a target metal from a liquid sample, said process comprising: [1] applying acoustic cavitation to the liquid; and [2] adding an iron (II) salt, or a precursor form thereof, to the liquid sample and allowing Fenton oxidation reaction to occur between the iron and hydrogen peroxide in the liquid, thereby producing hydroxyl radicals; thereby producing a target metal salt or metal oxide having a reduced solubility in the liquid sample, leading to removal of the target metal from the liquid sample. The use of metal ligands in such processes is also described, as well as systems for performing such processes. Methods, processes, and systems for removing organic contaminants from a liquid sample are also described.

A method for the removal of at least one contaminant from an aqueous liquor or a gas, comprising: preparing a solution or slurry of a solid alkali reagent by supplying a solid alkali reagent into a pre-wetting chamber via a feed pipe; supplying a liquid via two or more liquid sidestreams, each through a liquid inlet positioned on a side wall of the chamber to allow the liquid sidestreams to wash an internal wall of a frusto-conical section of the chamber and flow, preferably tangentially onto the internal wall in a downward spiraling manner thereby forming a vortex, towards a fluid outlet of the chamber and to further wet the solid alkali reagent with the supplied liquid thereby forming a pre-wetted reagent; and flowing a stream though a conduit, thereby creating a suction by the eductor to draw the pre-wetted reagent out of the chamber fluid outlet and mixing it with the stream to form a slurry or solution; and directing the slurry or solution exiting the eductor to an aqueous liquor or gas treatment unit, removing at least a portion of the contaminant from the aqueous liquor or gas in the treatment unit.

The present invention is directed to a ligated metal-organic framework (MOF) for use in removing both anionic and cationic species from a liquid or liquid stream. The present invention also provides methods for placing the MOF on a substrate to form a MOF-containing product that can be used in the removal of certain species from a given fluid. The MOF may be a Zr-based MOF, such as NU-1000, for removal of certain anions, such as oxy-anions, or having an attached thiosulfonyl-thiol (—SO.sub.2—S—R.sub.2—SH, where R.sub.2 is an alkyl group) ligand for complexation with certain cationic species in addition to the anions. The substrate may be any substrate to which a given MOF may be attached, including inert polypropylene polymer resin beads, a macroscopic fabric such as a mesh material or mesh filter, and a molecular fabric.

In one embodiment, a system includes first anoxic moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR) configured to receive a fluid containing selenium and to process the fluid via a first biofilm disposed on a first media to produce a first MBBR fluid by removing nitrogen from the fluid. The system further includes a second anoxic MBBR fluidly coupled to the first MBBR to receive the first MBBR fluid and to process the first MBBR fluid via a second biofilm disposed on a second media to produce a selenium enriched fluid, followed by a solid-liquid separation system to remove selenium in solid form as sludge and produce a treated effluent containing equal to or less than 5 micrograms of selenium per liter. The system includes a plurality of first sensors and first actuators disposed on the first MBBR, and a plurality of second sensors and second actuators disposed on the second MBBR.

Methods for selenium removal from wastewater are provided using direct electrochemical reduction. Advantageously, the technique can efficiently and continuously treat weakly acidic wastewater (pH 4-7) with 0.001-10 mM Se(IV) concentrations in a weakly acidic solution. Embodiments of the invention include Se(IV) electrochemically removed from the aqueous phase through either a four- or six-electron pathway, with the former generating Se(0) directly attached to the electrode surface and the latter producing Se(-II) that is subsequently converted to Se(0). A key feature of these embodiments is the use of moderate heating to ensure the process takes place at an elevated temperature (e.g., temperatures above the amorphous-to-crystalline transition for Se(0)), which the inventors discovered results in the creation of conductive crystalline Se on an electrode surface, thereby avoiding self-limiting nature of prior techniques which result in insulative amorphous deposition of Se(0) on the electrode.

A process for the treatment of thick fine tailings that include constituents of concern (CoCs) and suspended solids is provided. The process includes subjecting the thick fine tailings to treatments including chemical immobilization of the CoCs, polymer flocculation of the suspended solids, and dewatering. The chemical immobilization can include the addition of compounds enabling the insolubilization of the CoCs. Subjecting the thick fine tailings to chemical immobilization and polymer flocculation can facilitate production of a reclamation-ready material, which can enable disposing of the material as part of a permanent aquatic storage structure (PASS).

A method of binding a target metal in solution. The method of binding a target metal comprises contacting a solution containing i) a target metal with ii) an encapsulated exudate of a culture of algal flagellate, or a fraction thereof; or an encapsulated dried Euglena biomass or a fraction thereof, to form a complex between the target metal, and the encapsulated exudate or fraction thereof, or the encapsulated dried Euglena biomass or the fraction thereof; and optionally separating the complex from the solution. The disclosure also relates to a biosorbent element, as well as methods of using same in binding a metal in solution.

The present invention relates to a control system for a bioreactor. More particularly, this invention relates to a process and apparatus for reading the characteristics of an industrial waste water stream and dosing amount of nutrients that play a key role to help the microorganisms in the bioreactor work efficiently to remove impurities from the industrial wastewater stream.

The present disclosure provides a particulate matter comprising a combination of crystalline manganese oxide and amorphous manganese oxide, the crystalline form being present and forms passages throughout a cross section of said particulate matter, wherein said crystalline form define a specific surface area that is greater than the outer surface of said particulate matter. Also provided herein is a process for removing chemical contaminants from flowing water making use of the particulate matter and a device and a system comprising the particulate matter.

Activated iron media and methods for generating and using the activated iron media. The method involves aqueous suspension comprising a zero-valent iron, ferrous iron, and an iron oxide to provide a settled solid and re-suspending the settled solid to provide an aqueous suspension containing an activated iron media.