Spectroscopy, Modeling and Computation of Metal Chelate Solubility in Supercritical CO2

Abstract

The overall objectives of this project were to gain a fundamental understanding of the solubility and phase behavior of metal chelates in supercritical CO{sub 2}. Extraction with CO{sub 2} is an excellent way to remove organic compounds from soils, sludges and aqueous solutions, and recent research has demonstrated that, together with chelating agents, it is a viable way to remove metals, as well. In this project the authors sought to gain fundamental knowledge that is vital to computing phase behavior, and modeling and designing processes using CO{sub 2} to separate organics and metal compounds from DOE mixed wastes. The overall program was a comprehensive one to measure, model and compute the solubility of metal chelate complexes in supercritical CO{sub 2} and CO{sub 2}/cosolvent mixtures. Through a combination of phase behavior measurements, spectroscopy and the development of a new computational technique, the authors have achieved a completely reliable way to model metal chelate solubility in supercritical CO{sub 2} and CO{sub 2}/co-contaminant mixtures. Thus, they can now design and optimize processes to extract metals from solid matrices using supercritical CO{sub 2}, as an alternative to hazardous organic solvents that create their own environmental problems, even while helping in metals decontamination.