Activated Alumina: The Superior
Solution for Environmental Cleanup, Pharmaceutical
Purification and Clean Energy Applications
Possessing a broad spectrum of
useful chemical and biological properties, activated
alumina is the superior adsorbent or desiccant for
chromatography, separation sciences, purification
and many other applications using adsorbents and
desiccants.
Thanks to DAI's "highest quality and consistency in
the industry" alumina, and its development of
specialized and customized alumina targeted to
specific applications, activated alumina has become
somewhat of a "miracle substance" providing the
best, most cost-effective solutions for many of the
most pressing environmental cleanup, pharmaceutical
purification, and clean energy problems facing our
planet. Applications include: removal of toxic metals and
hazardous substances from water, pcb removal, gas
and liquid dehydration, lithium purification, pharmaceutical purification
and decolorization.
DAI’s
UNIQUE "highest quality and consistency" alumina, and
manipulation of alumina’s pore and particle size to
produce a variety of aluminas make it the ONLY
company capable of using activated alumina to
provide optimal solutions to
the applications described below.
By Amanda Pelley,
Jonathan Flynn and David Goldstein
Think about some of the more
pressing issues of our times; achieving sustainable
environmental protection, identifying carbon neutral
methods for clean energy generation and finding
superior methods for purifying pharmaceutical agents
from an increasingly global resource pool. A growing
number of companies are recognizing that one
material- activated alumina- has the potential to
beneficially address all three issue areas.
Due to its unique properties,
alumina possesses the utility for use in a broad
range of commercial applications including:
-
Cleaning up environmentally
hazardous materials
-
Protecting the public from
the airborne transmission of H1N1 and other
deadly diseases and viruses
-
Promoting cleaner and safer
carbon neutral energy
-
Purifying pharmaceuticals
and nutraceuticals
While many alternative
techniques can be used in dealing with these
problems, activated alumina is increasingly
recognized as the superior and most cost effective
choice for separation and adsorbent needs.
What is Activated Alumina?
Activated alumina is an inorganic
substance produced by the dehydration of alumina
hydroxide at high temperature. The material is
highly porous and exhibits tremendous surface area,
resulting in superior adsorbent capabilities. It is
resistant to thermal shock and abrasion and does not
shrink, swell, soften or disintegrate when immersed
in water.
Alumina possesses amphoteric
properties allowing it to act as either an acid or a
base. The ability to alter its pore or particle size
provides it with a spectrum of unique biological and
physical properties that can address specific
desiccant and/or separating needs for the life and
environmental sciences. A recent independent lab
test demonstrated activated alumina to be the
superior, commercially available desiccant.
The Activated Alumina Advantage
For years, silica gel has been
the mainstay desiccant agent in industrial and
laboratory use. In practice, activated alumina
surpasses silica gel in performance by offering a
host of advantages that include:
-
Greater surface area,
upwards of 150-350 m˛/gram
-
Superior amphoteric
properties
-
Much higher values of pH pzc
-
Greater stability over a
broad pH range
-
No degradation at either
high pressure or high temperature in HPLC
settings
-
Lewis acid sites for
superior bonding to acidic materials
-
Strong affinity for halides
Commercial Applications for Activated Alumina
Environmental
Important environmental issues
addressed with alumina usage include: PCB binding;
adsorption and removal of arsenic, lead, copper,
fluoride and other heavy metals from water;
pesticides; bio-mass; dyes, color and solvent
adsorption and removal.
PCB Removal
Polychlorinated biphenyls
(PCBs), were created as coolants and insulating
fluids and used in capacitors, electrical
transformers and components in early fluorescent
light fittings. PCBs were also manufactured for use
with items such as adhesives, paints, wax, sealants,
printing inks and similar products in common usage.
The chemical was in circulation
for fifty years until a causal connection to
malignant disease in both animals and humans led to
EPA regulatory restriction in 1979. Limited,
monitored use of PCBs within industries requiring
large electrical power distribution and consumption
is still permitted due to indispensable benefits.
Even with vigilant monitoring, however, spillage can
occur, resulting in contamination of surface and
ground waters.
While large scale manufacturing
ceased over thirty years ago, millions of pounds of
this toxic chemical still pollute our waterways,
soil and air. Moreover, the polychlorinated side
chains of these incredibly stable molecules resist
degradation, resulting in bioaccumulation in the
food chain.
Due to the threat PCB’s impose,
more than 100 nations have committed to a Global
Program of Action to phase out PCBs. Activated
alumina can play a significant role in dramatically
reducing the chemical’s presence in our waterways
and soil.
Water Purification
Contaminated water may cause a
spectrum of health problems including organ failure,
brain damage, cancer and even death. According to a
recent report conducted by the United Nations
Environmental Program, more people now die from
drinking contaminated and polluted water than from
all forms of violence. Activated alumina has the
ability to adsorb many of the harmful contaminants
found in both waste water and aquifers. Alumina can
be used as part of an effective filtration system,
either at the point of origin or the point of use.
Lead
Chronic exposure to lead may
cause irreversible damage to the kidneys, brain,
nervous system and red blood cells. Water
transported by lead and PVC (polyvinyl chloride)
pipeline leach lead over time, creating an
environmental health hazard. There are several
commercially available methods for lead removal. The
two most successful methods being reverse osmosis
and adsorption using activated alumina.
Amphoteric, activated alumina has demonstrated
superior safety and cost benefits for efficiently
removing lead. As an added benefit, activated
alumina can be regenerated, significantly reducing
treatment cost.
Uranium
Radioactive waste from uranium
enrichment plants leaks into our groundwater. The
following environments and items have been
contaminated with uranium:
- Groundwater
- Surface water
- Surface soils
- Legacy waste
- DOE material
- Burial grounds
Activated alumina can effectively elute uranium from
polluted sites by adsorption and filtration.
Specialty designed, activated alumina captures
uranium with high affinity, and the alumina
particles can then be safely disposed, safely
removing the radioactive hazard.
Copper
Copper is produced as a
byproduct of many industrial processes. Significant
amounts of copper invariably escape into the water
supply through unintentional leaks. As with other
heavy metals, copper is not biodegradable and will
cause harm unless absorbed and removed before
discharge for consumption. Costly disposal
techniques such as ion exchange, chemical
precipitation, ultra-filtration and electrochemical
deposition are being replaced by adsorption with
activated alumina. The amphoteric benefits provided by specialty activated
alumina eliminate the requirement for
co-precipitation and pH adjustment; thus providing a
seamless method for affordable copper removal.
Fluoride
Fluoride is a waste product
associated with glass manufacturing, electroplating,
the production of steel and aluminum, pesticides,
fertilizer and semiconductor manufacturing.
Removal of fluoride from
municipal and industrial waste water can be achieved
through precipitation, membrane or adsorption
processes. The maximum contaminant level for
fluoride established by the EPA is 4 parts per
million. Activated alumina can reduce
the concentration of fluoride to 1 part per million
or less.
The advantage of using activated
alumina for fluoride removal is due to fluoride
extraction being partially dependant on the pH of
waste water components. With some methods, if the
effluent stream is highly alkylotic, the wastewater
may need to be pretreated prior to reaching the
proper pH level. Activated alumina performs
optimally in a pH range of 5.5 to 8.5. When using
activated alumina, the “pretreatment” step can
be skipped entirely, providing greater efficiency
and reducing cost.
Arsenic
Arsenic is the 20th most
abundant metal of the earth’s crust and continuously
leaks into the soil and water supply. Excess
exposure increases the risk for lung, bladder, skin,
liver and kidney tumors. The EPA most recently
reduced the acceptable level of arsenic in the
public water supply from 50 to 10 parts per billion.
The previous standard of 50 parts per billion gave a
70 year old person a 1:100 chance for developing
cancer solely on the basis of drinking water. This
is the same statistical odds for being killed in a
motor accident.
Activated alumina has proven to be the superior
sorption material for removal of arsenic from ground
and surface water . When using an adsorption
technology, which is currently the preferred method
for arsenic removal, it is best to use a material
which is non leachable. The arsenic should remain
chemically bound to the adsorbent media such that
the material is able to pass the EPA criteria for
Toxic Characteristic Leaching Procedure Levels
(TCLP). This will allow the arsenic bound adsorbent
material to be removed in a cost effective, non
hazardous fashion. Ideally, there should be no
sludge for disposal and the adsorbent selected
should be effective over a wide range of temperature
conditions and pH, and be resistant to both
microbial growth and oxidation.
Energy
Foreign energy dependence
directly impacts the American economy. For our
national security, we need to develop alternative
energy resources like natural gas and electricity.
Many people are not yet aware that generous supplies
of energy resources like natural gas and lithium,
used to make electric and hybrid car batteries, are
domestically accessible. Activated alumina plays
a role in bringing these energy sources to the
marketplace through its role as an adsorbent and a
desiccant.
Gas and Liquid Dehydration
Trends in energy demand and
concerns over our increasing trade imbalance have
made natural gas the fastest growing source of
domestic energy production. New natural gas fields
from the Appalachian Basin and our western states
all have access to natural gas lines that can
sustain the United States with its energy needs for
at least 100 years. As these new production fields
are commercially developed, it is essential that the
gas be transported or stored devoid of water vapor
and other liquids that can corrode and, over time,
destroy the transport infrastructure.
Liquids left in natural gas
lines will disrupt continuous gas delivery. Most of
the liquids associated with extracted natural gas
can be removed by simple separation methods at or
near wellheads. Water extruded along with natural
gas is removed through the process of direct cooling
- reducing temperatures in order to decrease the
saturated vapor content of the natural gas. The
temperature must be reduced to the lowest value that
gas will encounter at the prevailing pressure in
order to prevent further condensation of water.
The direct cooling method is not
the most effective way to ensure that the liquid
component is fully removed from natural gas lines.
The complete removal of water vapor existing in
natural gas requires a superior desiccant or drying
agent.
Activated alumina will most
efficiently ensure the future energy needs of North
America by keeping natural gas lines void of all
liquid. It is essential for natural gas to be dry at
both points of use and origin. Companies have
designed specialized activated alumina that can
adsorb the most amount of liquid from natural gas at
both points of use and origin, making alumina the
superior method ensuring the protection of the local
energy source.
Lithium
The global demand for lithium is
increasing 20% annually and is on the rise. Lithium
is being used to power laptops, digital cameras,
cell phones and has recently become a prime energy
source for powering hybrid and electric motor
vehicles. By switching to carbon-free
transportation, the pace of global warming will be
altered. Lithium is truly part of the global
movement of “going green.”
Lithium must be purified to its
natural state in order to be effectively used. If
the impurities in lithium are not removed, devices
that are powered by lithium batteries like motor
vehicles and cell phones could explode. Due to
stability in a high alkaline setting, activated
alumina has proven to be an outstanding agent for
the purification of lithium.
Biopharmaceuticals
Biopharmaceuticals and
nutraceuticals are referred to as phytochemicals or
functional foods. They are natural bioactive
chemical compounds that promote health, prevent
disease or have medicinal properties. Many
nutraceutical products are of herbal origin and
their active chemical properties are based on plant
alkaloids that require the use of activated alumina
for isolation and purification..
Pyrogen Removal
Pharmaceutical products produced
using bacteria as cellular factories are virtually
always contaminated with lipopolysaccharides (LPS),
endotoxins that can cause systemic inflammatory
reactions. These can run the spectrum from effecting
tissue energy, to endotoxin shock and death when
injected into patients.
Due to its amphoteric
properties, specialty activated alumina with surface
modified chemical moieties provide a superior tool
for the removal of endotoxins. No other commercially
available agent can provide such a rewarding pH
response or offer a better method for the removal of
chemical pyrogens from a protein or peptide
solution.
Antibiotics
Antibiotics that are isolated
compounds produced by large scale fermentation
broths can benefit from the use of activated
alumina. As an example, glycopeptides such as vancomycin (used for the treatment of methicillin
resistant Staphylococcal aureus (MRSA) as well as
for treating other gram positive bacteria resistant
to penicillin) are produced from the genus
Actinomycetes. The fermentation process is run
through an activated alumina column to
decolorize this antibiotic, the most important drug
agent in the treatment of a MRSA epidemic.
Alkaloids
There are more than 420,000
distinct plant species in the world and less than
10% of them have been fully analyzed. Almost all
alkaloids are toxic and most display pharmacologic
activity. The isolation and purification of these
distinct alkaloid species is a major goal of the
pharmaceutical industry. Each of the sundry classes
of plant alkaloids have been successfully isolated
and purified using activated alumina as the sorbent
of choice in TLC and flash chromatographic systems.
Conclusion – Making the Right Purchasing
Decision with DAI
Only Dynamic
Adsorbents makes the quality and variety of alumina
that make it the "miracle substance" - providing the
best solutions available for so many applications.
While there are a number of
products to consider when dealing with environmental
cleanup, clean energy and biopharmaceuticals,
activated alumina is the superior choice for almost
all applications. The compound surpasses its
competitors in the critical categories of:
- Efficiency
- Cost effectiveness
- Versatility
Now that you are aware of
alumina’s capabilities, the next step is to make the
right purchasing decision - to purchase from the
only company manufacturing the highest quality and
most consistent alumina, and widest variety of
specialized and customized alumina targeted to the
widest range of applications.
Dynamic Adsorbents, Inc.
specializes in the production of specially designed
and customized activated alumina for a wide range of
applications. When it comes to using alumina
for any of the applications in this article, there is only one
company whose team of researchers and scientists
wrote the book on alumina. For the past 30 years,
the Dynamic Adsorbents (DAI) team has set the
standard for how alumina is graded and used, as well
as quality and breadth of product.
DAI is the only company whose
mission is to find the best solutions to meet your
company’s needs, and deal with some of the most
pressing health and safety issues facing our planet,
and not just sell off the shelf products. It
is the only company producing activated alumina
capable of providing the best, most cost effective
solutions to such a wide variety of applications.
How? By being the only company:
-
Whose
team wrote the book on alumina - setting the
standards for how alumina is graded,
manufactured and used today.
-
Manufacturing activated alumina using
standardized procedures, producing the highest
quality alumina according to independent lab
tests, along with the highest quality control
and lot to lot consistency.
-
Producing more than 20 varieties of alumina
through manipulation of particle and pore sizes,
to meet the widest range of applications and
solutions in the industry.
-
Customizing alumina to best meet company and
lab needs
-
Having a team of experts
– scientists, researchers, environmentalists and
medical specialists - always striving to find
the best solutions for our clients and problems
facing our
planet.
DAI specialized products
include:
For Chromatography
- Super Activity I
- Standard Activity I
- Activity II and III
- Dry column chromatography
alumina
For Cleanup, Drying and Purification
- Alumina C - removal of
PCB's
- Dyna-AquaTM Lead
- Dyna-AquaTM
Copper
- Dyna-AquaTM
Uranium
- Dyna-AquaTM
Fluoride
- Dyna-AquaTM
Arsenic
- DynaPharmaTM
Pyrogen
- DrysphereTM - Gas and liquid dehydration
- Alumina for Pilot and
Process
- Alumina R - Radioactive
materials removal
- AL 2100 - Scavenger alumina
for process cleanup
- AL 2300 - Bio-Mass clean-up
- AL 5005 - Decolorization
- AL 5788 - Dioxin analysis
- AL 5900 - Activated wide-pre
alumina
- Alumina for Solvent
Purification
In the end, there is only one
company, DAI, with the history, mission, expertise,
product quality, and full commitment to you.
Activated alumina should be the
first choice for environmental remediation,
separation, desiccant and purification needs and
applications. DAI should be your only choice for
purchasing it. You will be pleased that you have
chosen wisely. It not only makes perfect
environmental sense, but perfect business sense.
