Project Summary (2000-2005)

The goal of this project is to develop appropriate chemical intervention strategies for the remediation of polluted groundwater and the prevention of chemical-induced disease in humans and animals. Investigators are developing field-practical, clay-based adsorbents that can be used to bind and remove pollutants from groundwater. Further development includes methods to employ these adsorbents in effective groundwater remediation strategies. Hydrophilic and hydrophobic clay minerals have been chemically bonded to sand and utilized as a method for dramatically improving the discharge capacity of montmorillonite clays, while retaining their sorptive characteristics and improving their contact with the carrier medium. A distinct advantage of this method over other existing methods of water treatment is the increased bulk density of the sand-immobilized clay product, which is now amenable to large scale processing of groundwater via in-line columns or existing fixed-bed sand filtration systems. Further research will delineate optimal clays and clay based sorbent systems for the remediation of polluted groundwater.