Russian scientists have developed a new approach for a bubbling-based treatment of wastewater from heavy and non-ferrous metal salts, which makes it possible to remove around 99% of their ions in just 3-5 minutes.

"The essence of this method is quite simple: A solution with contaminants is passed through an apparatus with electrodes at the bottom.  An electric current is passed through the liquid, which causes bubbles of hydrogen and oxygen appear on the electrodes.  The bubbles gradually float up to the surface, capturing metal particles along the way.  As for the resultant foam – it is removed with a special scraper, "said Vladimir Brodsky, one of the authors of the study, a researcher at the Russian Chemical Technology University.

In recent years, scientists have begun to develop new wastewater treatment techniques that make this process economically beneficial.  On the one hand, these approaches allow the use of organic products of this processing as fertilizers in fields and gardens.  On the other hand, they can be used to extract gold and other valuable metals from industrial effluents and city sewers.

Source: TASS

Image: Nature.com