Treatability and Time Course Studies
When evaluating waste treatment strategies, it is essential to understand the underlying chemical processes and the speciation of the resulting products. To achieve this, it is common practice to collect samples at various stages of the treatment process and send them to external laboratories for analysis. While this approach can provide insight into basic treatment outcomes, it often fails to capture the full picture. Chemical speciation can continue to evolve after sampling, meaning that laboratory results may not accurately reflect the species present at the time of collection.
To address this challenge, we offer customized treatability and time course studies that simulate treatment processes at the laboratory scale. These studies incorporate real-time analysis using ICP-MS, with sampling intervals limited only by the duration of the analytical method. This approach offers several key advantages:
- Real-time insight into the formation and transformation of chemical species during treatment.
- Pilot-scale validation of dosing and treatment protocols before full-scale implementation reducing financial risk.
- Minimization of time-dependent artifacts, such as precipitation of matrix elements or aggregate formation.
- Rapid preliminary results, often available on the same day as testing.
Expertise in Diverse Treatment Modalities
We have extensive experience with a wide range of treatment technologies, including:
Chemical Treatments
We evaluate various dosing regimens of chemical oxidants (e.g., hydrogen peroxide) and assess the impact of quenching agents used to halt oxidant activity. These agents can influence chemical speciation and must be carefully considered in treatment design.
Ozone Generation
Our laboratory is equipped to reproducibly and quantifiably generate ozone for treatment studies. Ozone can be used alone or in combination with chemical treatments to simulate a broad spectrum of treatment conditions.
Ultraviolet (UV) Light Treatment
We offer UV irradiation capabilities for treatment scenarios that aim to reduce or eliminate chemical additives. While UV can be highly effective, it may also produce unintended side effects. Our studies help evaluate both the efficacy and potential off-target impacts of UV treatment on specific analytes.
These capabilities represent just a portion of the services we provide. We have successfully supported clients across a variety of industries—including mining, refining, and environmental remediation—by tailoring treatment studies to their specific needs and regulatory requirements.