Inventors:
Thomas H. Jeffers - Salt Lake City UT
Don C. Seidel - Salt Lake City UT
Assignee:
The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the
Interior - Washington DC
International Classification:
C02F 142, C12N 1112, C12N 1104, B01J 1302
Abstract:
Polymer beads are prepared containing an immobilized extractant for sorbing metal contaminants at concentrations of less than 1 mg/L in dilute aqueous solutions. A preferred polymer is polysulfone and the extractant can be a biomass material or a synthetic chemical compound sorbed into activated carbon. The polymer beads are prepared by dissolving the polymer in an organic solvent to form a solution, adding the extractant to the solution to form a mixture and injecting the mixture through a nozzle into water to form the beads.