BY SCOTT HUNTER HADDOW
In a chemistry lab within the walls of Laurentian University researchers have developed molecules, which could improve the remedial process of industrial water. Their work could have enormous impacts on the mining industry and the environment, researchers say.
Ashley Bibb and Louis Mercier have been working over the course of a couple of years developing special materials that can selectively pick out precious metals and toxic organic compounds from water systems.
Thiol functionilized nanoporous material is the molecule that allows metals to bind with it.
“We have a material that has demonstrated the ability to selectively pick out precious metals like gold, platinum and palladium that does not interfere with other elements like iron, nickel and copper,” says Mercier, associate professor in the department of chemistry and biochemistry.
The researchers fabricate the material in the lab out of molecular precursors of silica. The end product resembles a fine, white powder with the texture of fine sand.
It could be used in acid mine drainage, waste and effluent ponds or any other system that produces effluent with metals in it.
Through their fabrication and using certain chemical groups, they can tailor the material to do a specific application.
The material has been developed, but now the technology must be developed to implement the powder in a practical way.
The researchers have also developed a donut-like molecule called Cyclodextrin, that can be used to cleanup chemical spills, petroleum tank leaks and pesticides.
