Selective Anion Exchange Resins for the Removal of Perchlorate [(CIO{sub 4}{sup -})] from Groundwater

The primary objective of this project was to evaluate a novel bifunctional anion exchange resin for the cost-effective, in situ treatment of groundwater contaminated with perchlorate (ClO{sub 4}{sup -}). Both laboratory and field studies were performed to determine the selectivity and capacity of the bifunctional synthetic resins to sorb ClO{sub 4}{sup -} from simulated or actual contaminated groundwater. A number of synthetic bifunctional resins, including two commercial versions made by Purolite International and three commercially available, mono-functional resins, were tested. Initial laboratory batch and column breakthrough studies determined the best synthetic resins and the optimal conditions for the field experiment. Laboratory results indicated that the bifunctional synthetic resins, D-3696 and RO-02-119 were highly selective toward ClO{sub 4}{sup -} and performed {approx}5 times better than the best commercial nitrate resin (Purolite{reg_sign} A-520E) and more than an order of magnitude better than some nonselective commercial resins (e.g. Amberlite{reg_sign} IRA-900). The bifunctional resins were particularly effective in removing trace quantities of ClO{sub 4}{sup -} in groundwater to below the detection limit ({approx} 3 {micro}g/L). A field trial demonstrated that the bifunctional resin (D-3696) was able to treat {approx} 110,000 bed volumes of groundwater before a 10% breakthrough of ClO{sub 4}{sup -} occurred undermore » the column flow-through conditions (running at {approx} 2 bed volumes per minute). On the other hand, the Purolite{reg_sign} A-520E resin was able to treat {approx} 23,000 bed volumes of groundwater under the same experimental conditions. No pretreatment was needed to remove either dissolved organic matter or other competing anions (such as SO{sub 4}{sup 2-} or NO{sub 3}{sup -}) in the groundwater, and the treatment process did not alter the water quality by removing or adding secondary by-products because of the high selectivity of the bifunctional resins. The results thus demonstrated that the new bifunctional resin could provide an efficient and cost-effective solution to the removal of ClO{sub 4}{sup -} from groundwater because of its reduced cost in operation and maintenance, resin regeneration, and waste disposal. « less