Technology

Technology is the practical application of our knowledge, especially in a particular area. Environmental technology is the force behind NRMRL research. Innovative environmental technologies hold the promise of being more effective and less costly than traditional methods, and able to address the far more complex environmental problems that face us today.

So NRMRL researchers begin with idea development; evaluate designs at bench, pilot, and field scales; demonstrate technologies; and conduct commercial performance verification. These steps are borne out in various NRMRL programs and projects:

Sustainability

Clean Processes

Green chemistry and engineering (supercritical carbon dioxide, green catalysts, alternative synthesis, methyl tertiary butyl ether [MTBE] removal)
Pervaporation
Metals recovery and recycle
Electroless
Electro-membrane
Watersheds environmental and impact analysis

Industrial Media

Mine waste technology
Metal finishing
Lead paint and soil abatement
Industrial process pollution prevention modeling
Fuel cells
Common sense initiative
Metal forming
Source reduction review program
Pollution prevention tools
Program for Assisting the Replacement of Industrial Solvents (PARIS II)
Computer-aided process engineering

Sustainable Environments

Environmental economics
Sustainable systems
Environmental law
Hydrology and land use
Biotechnology

Systems Analysis

Simulation and design
Life cycle assessment
Sustainability metrics
Environmental engineering economics
Tools integration for sustainable development
Impact assessment and measurement
Engineering trade-offs

Waste Management

Landfill Bioreactors and Waste Management of Novel Materials (determine whether industrial waste liquids are beneficial to the operation of landfill bioreactors)

Waste Material Reuse and Leaching Chemistry (determine whether reused waste material remains stable in its reuse application; for example, a mineral processing waste called chat, a gravel-like waste created from lead and zinc mining activities in the Oklahoma, Kansas, and Missouri tri-state mining region between the late 1800s and mid 1900s)

Waste Material Bioavailability and Speciation Existing and Emerging (determine the uptake parameters associated with environmental contaminants)

Nanomaterial Fate, Transport, and Disposal (characterize and determine movement parameters associated with nanomaterials in the environment, specifically nanosilver and titanium dioxide)

Sediment Characterization and Remediation of Inorganic Contaminants (determine the type and characteristics of inorganic pollutants in sediment and soil media; develop a technique for analysis and remediation)

Natural Disaster Recovery (determine triage techniques and disposal and reuse options for large quantity wastes resulting from natural disasters)

Soils and Sediments

Lake Hartwell Monitored Natural Recovery Project (develop tools for assessing natural processes)

Ashtabula Dredging Residuals Project (field evaluation of dredging residuals)

Innovative Capping – Bauxite (evaluate innovative cap for managing mercury-contaminated sediments)

Indiana Harbor Beneficial Reuse of Contaminated Sediment (Investigate treatment processes for beneficial reuse of contaminated sediments)

Development of Passive Samplers (develop passive samplers for assessing contaminant availability)

Volatilization of Contaminants From Contaminated Sediments (evaluate volatilization of contaminants)

Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals (EDCs) and Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA) (determine the fate and transport of EDCs and PFOA)

Environmental Stressors Management

Innovative Sampler for Bioaerosols (measure small-particle and biological air pollution resulting from land-based activities)

Constructed and Restored Wetlands (measure the quantitative impact of wetlands on water quality over time as a function of various physical, chemical, and biological parameters)

Manure Digestion (determine whether manure digestion reduces the nutrient and pathogen content of manure to the extent that, when land applied, the manure releases fewer nutrients and pathogens into the watershed)

Technology Verification

The Environmental Technology Verification (ETV) Program verifies the performance of innovative technologies that have the potential to improve protection of human health and the environment. ETV accelerates the entrance of new environmental technologies into the domestic and international marketplaces.

The Superfund Innovative Technology Evaluation (SITE) Program was established by EPA's Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response and the Office of Research and Development in response to the 1986 Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act, which recognized a need for an "alternative or innovative treatment technology research and demonstration program." SITE materials are specifically developed to aid engineers, scientists, and other remediation professionals in the efficient monitoring, measurement, and remediation of hazardous wastes.