Selenium removal from waste waters by electrochemical reduction

Because of the toxicity of selenium, its removal from waste water is a crucial treatment before discharging. Selenate (Se(VI)) and selenite (Se(IV)) are the most common species of Se in waste waters. There are many efficient methods for removal of selenite from wastewaters (e.g., ferrihydrite chemical co-precipitation, cementation, or adsorption) while the removal of selenate is difficult to achieve due to its high mobility, weak adsorption (to be co-precipitated), and kinetically slow reduction rate. So, the main concern of this research is to remove selenate by selective reduction to selenite to enable the co-precipitation of Se with iron. The ultimate goal is to remove selenate in order to meet the receiving water standards in BC and Canada. This project can be a possibility for Seabridge Gold to venture into new markets. With an increasingly short supply of water to serve the world markets and industries needing revolutionary ways of saving costs, Seabridge Gold can tap into the emerging world of water treatment.

Faculty Supervisor:

David Dreisinger

Student:

Maryam Mohammadi

Partner:

Seabridge Gold

Discipline:

Engineering

Sector:

Mining and quarrying

University:

University of British Columbia