Heavy Metal Treatment Essay

The lab performed required the use of quantitative and analytical analysis along with limiting reagent analysis. The reaction of Copper (II) Sulfate, CuSO4, mass of 7.0015g with 2.0095g Fe or iron powder produced a solid precipitate of copper while the solution remained the blue color. Through this the appropriate reaction had to be determined out of the two possibilities. Through the use of a vacuum filtration system the mass of Cu was found to be 2.1726g which meant that through limiting reagent analysis Fe was determined to be the limiting reagent and the chemical reaction was determined to be as following:-

To complete the research a scientist went out to the Delaware River three different times at 6 different locations (Shi, Allen & Grassi, 1998). He collected the water and brought it back to the lab to be tested (Shi et al., 1998). The research method that was used was sampling and collecting data to see if the river has a high rate of copper in it (Shi et al., 1998). The results of the journal were also conclusive. Data was shown that when the water went through treatment plants or through sewers the water would come out with more copper than without going through these places (Shi et al., 1998). In the long run, the water is safe depending on where and when you collect the water for use (Shi et al.,

The rules for lead and copper have changed over the years, so let’s start at the beginning. Lead was originally regulated under the Public Health Service Act of 1962, which established a guideline of 0.050 mg/L (ppm) for lead in drinking water. This was carried over into the Safe Drinking Water Act of 1974. It wasn’t until 1991 that regulation changed significantly under the Lead and Copper Rule. This rule regulates how public water supplies must deal with the potential of lead and copper in the drinking water. Additionally, there is also the Reduction of Lead in Drinking Water Act, which regulates the amount of lead that can be in products that could come into contact with drinking water, like pipes, plumbing fitting, fixtures, solder and flux.

This laboratory exploration attempted to determine the LC50 of copper concentration and a mixture of copper, zinc, and manganese from the mine tailing leachate on Daphnia magna. Acute metal toxicity testing guidelines were followed and dose response curve was developed to determine these values. The LC50 of copper concentration was approximated to be 56 μg/L. The LC50 for the mine tailing leachate with the prevalence of Zn, Cu, and Mn metals was the dilution factor of 1:1.57. These values were compared to literature values. It was concluded that various environmental parameters, including pH and hardness have a great influence on metal toxicity.

Copper commonly occurs as a pollutant in surface fresh waters and it can be extremely toxic to fish , and so its removal is often necessary . There are several methods that exist in the actuality, such as adsorption on activated

During rain events, a combination of contaminants from roadways, parking lots, manufacturing facilities and industrial sites enter storm drains [2]. This runoff is a major contributor to oil contamination in public water domains and if left untreated, it leads to greater pollution of our oceans, lakes, and rivers. Runoff can also contain heavy metals, such as potassium (K + ) , zinc (Zn 2+ ), lead (Pb 2+ ), copper (Cu 2+ ), and chromium (Cr 3+ ), all of which in large quantities are extremely toxic to biological environments [3]. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the Clean Water Act (CWA) 40 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 122 indicates that facilities are required to obtain National Pollutant Discharge Elimination Systems

The Water Pollution Acts (1977 and 1990) and the EPA Act 1992 were licenced, which outline the control of discharge of various materials in industrial activities. They enforce industrial companies to use various technologies to remove or recover the metals from wastewater before released to sewer. Most of the companies are unable to treat the waste themselves due to cost effective treatment to remove these metals, therefore they send their wastewater to companies such as RILTA environmental. There are many technologies available for recovery of heavy metals from wastewater such as electrodialysis, ion exchange and reverse osmosis. However these techniques may be expensive and ineffective especially when the metals are present in the wastewater

The most common point-of-use filtration media is activated carbon. Activated carbon is able to absorb organic and inorganic contaminates and are more commonly used to reduce any flavor or odor in the water2, 27, 28. In addition to the high surface area, activated carbon can chemically interact with heavy metals in the water. Most carbon materials like activated carbon are known to have high adsorption capabilities towards metal ions24. The pores of the carbon allow for trapping of large particles as well as increasing the available surface for contaminates to interact. Table 1 shows the overall size distribution of the activated carbon grains, average pore diameter and elemental composition of the activated carbon used for experimentation. The carbon has a rough exterior with many cavities and pathways for particles and ions in the water to filter (Figure 1).

A lot of local waste water and waste dumps use fossil fuels containing some copper particles to produce fertilizers and other natural sources like vegetation’s and sprays. Thus, copper is very prevalent in the environment. There was about “1,400,000,000 pounds of copper released into the environment in the year 2000”. As copper is being released it binds strongly to organic material in the soil. Meaning there is cooper compounds that get into the ground water and eventually reached rivers and lakes. The indoor effect of copper comes mostly from the burning of things like heaters and propane tanks that use copper tubing to get indoors. Basic copper does not break apart in the

Ground water forms a large percent of all the used water on the earth. And as it cannot be seen, it is usually overlooked or ignore when considering all the water on the earth. Since aquifer is valuable source, protecting it form pollution and managing its use carefully will guarantee its future as an important part of eco-system and human activity. Recently, industrial applications of toxic heavy metals have caused dangerous environmental problems. This essay will show the effect of aquifer polluted by some contaminants such as Cr (III), Fe(III), Cu(II), Cd(II), and Pb(II) or radioactive materials on people, plants and animals. In addition, it will demonstrate the best treatment and preventative methods. Furthermore, it will argue that the pretreatment of industrial wastes is the best way to prevent the pollution in ground water.

The high toxicity and carcinogenicity of DNP and Cr (VI) compounds makes it essential that these should be effectively removed from the wastewater streams thereby posing limitations on the conventional

Contaminants exist in waste water are either damaging or useful, in both cases they should be extracted whether to discard or to make a use out of it.

Scientists are fascinated with copper and its ability to be both harmful and beneficial depending on the form that the metal is in. A major issue that excessive copper has produced is copper pollution. The experiment conducted enable copper to be reacted through a series of chemical reactions to explore its ionic and elemental form. The properties of copper salts produced and the characterizes of the reactions were recorded. It also explored the reactivity of copper in the different chemical environments and assisted in making it more clear to find ways to deal with copper

The people around the world have been a realization that waste management systems are important to put in place in industrializes countries to reduce releases of cadmium into the environment.

Heavy metals are widely present in the environment and arise from either natural or man-made source. However, Human behavior coupled with the increasing technological advancement has resulted in increased production of waste products in unadulterated environments across the globe. Furthermore, these acts of environmental pollution could be either accidental or sometimes deliberate; nonetheless, more of these toxic heavy metals are finding their way into the food chain.