DEWATERING OF HAZARDOUS WASTES USING REVERSIBLE GEL ABSORPTION.

We have studied the technical feasibility of using gels to concentrate aqueous waste streams. Potential applications focus on extracting pure water from wastewaters that contain low concentrations of hazardous solutes in order to reduce volumes and concentrate the hazardous material. It has been demonstrated that water sensitive cross-linked gels absorb water while excluding macromolecules that are larger than the gel pore size. A cyclic process of swelling, acidification to release water, and gel reuse has been demonstrated. The process is similar to solvent extraction with the added feature that it separates by molecular size.