Alternative Cation Exchange Media for Metal Ion Removal

Commercial cation exchange media are effective in removing metal ions from a variety of aqueous sources. However, commercial media are normally expensive, which does not make them conducive to removal of metal ions from large volumes of contaminated water, such as storm water. Under these circumstances, an inexpensive, efficacious and reliable source of cation exchange media must be found. Peat Technologies Corporation of Nashwauk, MN has developed, with the assistance of the USDA-ARS, Southern Regional Research Center, New Orleans, LA, alternative, natural material-based media that have been shown to be effective in removal of metal ions from solution. These media consist of two readily available products, namely, peat and soybean hulls. In the case of soybean hulls, their cation exchange capabilities have been significantly enhanced by a simple modification procedure using citric acid. These two peat and hull products, designated MultiSorb™ 100 and BioSorb™ 100, respectively, have been used to remove metal ions from different laboratory prepared solutions and from samples of industrial wastewater. They are inexpensive to manufacture and because of their potentially low product cost, lend themselves to storm water applications where large quantities of metal ion removal media are required.