ERIE Research Projects
Analysis of zeolitic materials for remediation of strontium contaminated groundwater at West Valley Development Project
Participants:
ERIE Fellows: Shannon Seneca, Civil (Environmental) Engineering
Faculty: Alan J. Rabideau, Civil (Environmental) Engineering
Other UB Researchers: Karl Bandilla; Colleen Bronner; Erin Ross
Research Partners/Collaborators: West Valley Environmental Services, LLC; AMEC Geomatrix and the US Department of Energy
Key terms:
Zeolite, Strontium, West Valley Development Project
Summary:
A UB research team led by Dr. Alan J. Rabideau (professor) and Shannon Seneca (Ph.D. Student) is investigating the capacity of two types of natural zeolitic materials to adsorb radioactive strontium (Sr-90). Results will be used to determine which material is most suitable for use in a Permeable Treatment Wall (PTW) to remediate groundwater at a local site, the West Valley Development Project (WVDP).
The analysis being performed at UB consists of characterizing the zeolite, batch experiments and column experiments.  Figure 1: Column packed with natural zeolite
This project was initiated January 2009, however is based on previous research on natural zeolitic materials performed at at UB (Rabideau et al., 2005).
Figure 2: Shannon Seneca and Zeolite Column Experiments |
