ADVANCED NEUTRALIZATION™ SUMMARY and APPLICATIONS
AN™ TECHNOLOGY SUMMARY
The Advanced Neutralization™ technology for water utilizes a combination of electric powered, and mechanical and acoustic energy components to treat acidity and remove heavy metals from AMD and other acidic fluids. The process incorporates significantly enhanced upgrades to 100-year-old electrocoagulation technology to specifically treat acidity in water, but also to remove total and dissolved heavy metals, and suspended solids from fluid without the need of conventional water treatment chemicals. The AN™ process applies refined electrochemical principles tightly integrated with other technology components that provided inducements and processing conditions. AN™ system attributes and process components minimize electric power consumption; electrode and downgradient pipe fouling, degradation rates of sacrificial electrodes; and generation of solids’ mass that host the heavy metals removed from the AMD. AN™ neutralizes acidity in an efficient and controllable manner and enhances the formation of precipitated metals and solids with subsequent coagulation and maturation of dense and robust flocculated solids that settle quickly.
Acid Mine Drainage and Landfill Leachate
For application to Acid Mine Drainage or landfill leachate, technology system can incorporate a revolutionary rotating tri-axial media contact reactor that couples with both dimensionally stable and sacrificial electrodes, and other stimuli induced by the AN™ process. Total and dissolved heavy metals precipitate from solution and form flocculated solids in a pH range of 5.5-6.5 S.U. that mature and settle out from processed water in a clarification chamber.
Acidity treatment by the AN™ technology is accomplished in part, by electron transfer in the process reactor where released electrons react with acidity in AMD and dissolved oxygen to form water, thus consuming acidity. AN™ reactions also produce short-lived hydroxyl radicals that react to form hydroxide ions that, in turn, also react with acid causing hydronium ions sourced in AMD to form water. As part of the AN™ reaction process, metals are converted to oxides and other absorbed forms conducive to precipitation in a weakly acidic to neutral pH range; unlike metallic hydroxides that require alkaline pH conditions for even partial and/or variable solubility in the range of 9-11 S.U. common to conventional lime-based treatment approaches. No alkaline supplying chemical reagents or polymers are utilized in the AN™ technology, although a reaction enhancer additive may be provided as related to feed water quality of particularly low conductance, or elevated organic matter content.
Landfill leachate also favorably responds to AN™ processing. By enhancing AN™ component contributions in a balanced operating mode, emulsions, surfactants, and other organic matter constituents are disrupted and particle charges cause destabilization and subsequent coagulation of fulvic and humic acids so that other suspended solids, metals, and other constituents become more reactive and conditioned to also coagulate. Removal of the organic matter and constituents causes dramatic reduction in Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD).
When PFAS is present in landfill leachate, the AN™ technology can be coupled with the AMEOX™ and MBT-OC technologies to facilitate PFAS destruction in the fluid or and PFAS fixation in AN™ solids to mitigate it leachability.
APPLICATIONS and BENEFITS
AN TECHNOLOGY BENEFITS and USES:
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Acidity treatment, removal of heavy metals, emulsion and organic content destabilization.
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Low Life Cycle Cost.
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7-10 yr life expectancy.
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Stainless steel construction available.
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No moving parts (1-2 pumps).
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No filtration required.​​
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Low solids generation (less than 30% of traditional lime treatment).
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Uses electricity at low demand.
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No treatment chemical reagents needed.​​
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Effluent meets: NPDES, POTW pre-treatment, or acute/chronic toxicity for aquatic life (hazardous heavy metals and acidity). ​​
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Acid Mine Drainage (AMD)​​; landfill leachate; plating wash and rinsate fluids; frac water (emulsion disruption).
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Couples with AMEOX™ and MBT technologies for treatment of leachable metals and/or PFAS in AN™ solid residuals.
AN TECHNOLOGY and SYSTEMS APPLICATIONS
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Equipment Rental/Lease with Technical Support.
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Process equipment mobilization, setup, tear-down, and demobilize.
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Operator training, technical support, and non-routine repair and maintenance.
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For full-scale turnkey AN™ processing services, YBT will be responsible for all aspects of the technology delivery and treatment results.
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Full-scale turnkey AN™ processing services may be contracted on a lump-sum, unit price, or T&M basis.
AN PROCESS EQUIPMENT SIZING:
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Function of aqueous fluid flow, characteristics, parameters, and performance criteria
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Typically up to 200 gpm, but capable for scaling to 1000 gpm or more with proper treatability and pilot evaluation and trials.
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AN™ coagulated solids production loading and settling times determine clarification design criteria.
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Filtration is not typically required.
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Multiple options available for solids dewatering.
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AN™ equipment can be skid-mounted, installed within shipping container or trailer, or mounted within customer provided facility.