Metal separations of interest to the Chinese metallurgical industry

IBC Advanced Technologies’ Molecular Recognition Technology(MRT) SuperLig products selectively and rapidly bind with target species enabling their selective removal from solutions.The MRT process can produce a high purity separation product of maximum added value at a competitive cost.SuperLig products have high selectivity for many target species which can include metal ions,anions,and neutral molecules.In operation,the SuperLig product is first placed in a packed column.A solution containing a mixture of the target species and other chemical species is then passed through the column.The target species is removed selectively by the SuperLig product,the column is washed to remove residual feed solution,and the target species is recovered by a minimal quantity of eluent.The result is a pure and concentrated species that can be kept for its value or disposed of safely.The process is environmentally and ecologically friendly with no organic solvents being used.This paper provides a review of some examples of applications of MRT to separations of interest to the Chinese metallurgical industry.Included are several applications of MRT,including Pd separations from Pt metal refinery streams and low-grade spent catalyst wastes,Rh recovery from spent auto catalyst and other feeds,Re removal from selected impurity ions,Cd removal from Co electrolyte,Bi removal from Cu electrolyte,In and Ge separations from difficult matrices,and removal of bivalent first transition series and other metal ions from acid mine drainage(Berkeley Pit,Montana).Finally,the potential application of MRT to separations involving the recovery of rare earth metals and Li from low-level waste solutions and end-of-life products is discussed.     

Testosterone production and spermatogenic damage induced by organophosphorate pesticides.

Parathion is an organophosphorate pesticide amply used in agriculture. Many alterations induced by organophosphorate pesticides have been described, such as: cytogenetic alterations in germinal cells, oligozoospermia and teratozoospermia in the mouse. The effect of Parathion, both pure (PP) and commercial (PC), on mouse interstitial cell testosterone production was evaluated in vivo and in vitro. Male mice were intraperitoneally injected with a single dose of 1/3 LD50 of Parathion, both PP and PC. The animals were sacrificed at 1, 8 and 40 days post injection to evaluate the impact of disrupting testosterone production on spermatogonia, spermatocytes and elongated spermatids. The plasma testosterone was assayed by standard radioimmunoanalysis. The same method was used to assay testosterone in the culture medium of interstitial cells obtained from the control and Parathion treated animals at the same time intervals. Sperm count, sperm teratozoospermia and tubular blockage were analyzed for an appraisal of spermatogenesis. Increase in the teratozoospermia and tubular blockage was detected in the PP and PC group at 8 and 40 days post injection. Plasma testosterone levels drop significantly at 8 days and recovered slowly at 40 days only in PP animals as detected in vivo, implying interference of testicular steroidogenesis due to the toxicant. Recuperation of normality occurs at long time intervals. In conclusion, Parathion disturbs the synthesis of testosterone in mice affecting qualitatively the spermatogenesis     

Spherical Resorcinol‐Formaldehyde Performance Testing with Hanford Tank Waste

The efficacy of a new spherically engineered form of resorcinol‐formaldehyde (RF) resin was tested for cesium removal on two actual Hanford tank wastes. Small‐scale processing was conducted according to the River Protection Project‐Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant flowsheet in a lead‐lag column format. The RF resin processed 95 bed volumes (BVs) of high potassium‐bearing waste (AP‐101) and >200 BVs of a high complexant‐bearing waste (AN‐102) before reaching 50% cesium breakthrough. Elution with 0.5 M nitric acid was effective and complete after processing 16 BVs. Cesium and other analyte fractionations to the process stream effluent and eluate were evaluated. The RF resin resulted in very little metal and radionuclide fractionation, other than cesium, to the eluate. The spent resins were measured for most analytes relevant to land‐disposal requirements. The actinide concentrations on the spent resins were <3% of the transuranic waste limit; the residual cesium concentrations were <4 mCi/kg; chromium was the only metal, regulated by the Resource Conservation Recovery Act, that was measured in quantities significant to land‐disposal regulations.