MadSci Network: Environment
Query:

Re: Is there a way to seperate hydrogen, oxygen, arsenic and uranium?

Date: Thu Nov 23 14:57:14 2006
Posted By: Marcia Bailey, Staff, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Area of science: Environment
ID: 1163081326.En
Message:

Hi:

Sorry, but that would not be the way to go about removing either uranium 
or arsenic from water. Think about the energy it would take to separate hydrogen
from oxygen; and even if you did, you would no longer have water.  The objective
is to remove the contaminants from the water, not to break up the atomic
structure of the water molecule.  
 
However, there are standard methods for removing/reducing both uranium 
and arsenic from water.  See  http://www.dph.state.ct.us/Publications/BRS/EOHA/uranium3.pdf, for 
example.
 
Earlier this year there was a national conference on the occurrence and 
treatment of four contaminants in water, including arsenic and uranium.  One of
the subjects was treatment methods and systems. 
Check out the agenda here.
You should be able to contact some of the people who spoke on issues that you
are interested in.  They would be the real experts to help you with your science
project!

Here is another newly reported way to treat arsenic.  See  http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6136970.stm.
 
You could also search the Web for private companies (consultants) who 
specialize in water treatment systems.  One thing I would suggest to do is try
to find out if there is a cost-effective treatment system that would
treat both uranium and arsenic, instead of having to use two different systems. 



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