Teagan Leitzke¹, Jerome Downey¹, David Hutchins¹, Brian St. Clair¹; ¹Montana Technological University

Many natural water sources and industrial wastewaters contain low concentrations of metals and other contaminants. Therefore, an efficient and economical method for low-level contaminant removal and recovery is needed. The purpose of the research is to improve and modify a newly developed continuous flow ion exchange process for expansion to a variety of non-industrial applications, including removal of metal ions from the Upper Clark Fork River Watershed. The process involves a dual column reactor designed to capture metal ions using 90-105 μm spherical, functionalized silica gel coated magnetite particles, targeting copper ions with future expansion to additional metals, such as manganese and zinc. The optimization of nanoparticle synthesis and dispersion is ongoing with variables that include pH, metal ion concentration, nanoparticle concentration, and temperature. Additional focus involves maximizing contaminant capture, with current values of 0.45 mmol Cu/g Fe₃O₄ for magnetite and 0.32 mmol Cu/g Fe₃O₄ for silica-coated magnetite.