Method and apparatus to detoxify aqueous based hazardous waste

A process comprising:

• substantially concurrently removing organics and heavy metals from an aqueous based stream, by,
• removing solids from said aqueous based stream;
• storing said aqueous based stream;
• adding a chelating agent to said aqueous based stream to generate an organometallic complex comprising at least some of said heavy metals;
• dissolving some of said organics and said organometallic complex in a solvent;
• separating an extract from said aqueous based stream, said extract comprising said solvent, said organometallic complex, at least some of said organics and at lest some of said heavy metals to generate a clean aqueous stream;
• and
• recovering said solvent from said extract.

A system comprising:

• means for processing and substantially concurrently removing organics and heavy metals from aqueous based hazardous waste, including,
• pretreatment means for removing solids from said aqueous based stream and for establishing an aqueous feed;
• chelating means for chemically treating said aqueous feed and for chelating at least some of said heavy metals to maintain said at least some of said heavy metals in said aqueous feed as a suspended chelate;
• extraction means for providing a solvent to dissolve and remove at least some of said organics and said suspended chelate from said aqueous feed as a concentrated extract and for providing an aqueous raffinate;
• recycling means for stripping said solvent from said concentrated extract and for recycling said solvent back to said extraction means;
• and
• post-treatment means for processing said aqueous raffinate to remove residual organics and heavy metals therefrom and for discharging an aqueous effluent.