A Field Demonstration of the UV/Oxidation Technology to Treat Ground Water Contaminated with VOCs

This paper presents the Geld evaluation results of the ultraviolet radiation (UV)/oxidation technology developed by Ultrox International, Santa Ana, California. The Geld evaluation was performed at the Lorentz Barrel and Drum (LB&D) site in San Jose, California, under the Superfund Innovative Technology Evaluation program in February and March of 1989.

The UV/oxidation technology uses UV radiation, ozone, and hydrogen peroxide to oxidize organic contaminants present in water. At the LB&D site, this technology was evaluated in treating ground water contaminated with volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The Ultrox system achieved VOC removals greater than 90 percent. Most VOCs were removed through chemical oxidation. However, for a few VOCs, such as 1, 1, 1-trichloroethane and 1, 1-dichloroethane, stripping also contributed toward removal. The treated ground water met the applicable discharge standards for discharge into a local waterway at 95 percent confidence level. There were no harmful air emissions to the atmosphere from the Ultrox system, which is equipped with an off-gas treatment unit.     

Demonstration of Microfiltration Technology

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in cooperation with E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Company, Inc. (DuPont) and the Oberlin Filter Company (Oberlin), undertook a field demonstration project to evaluate microfiltration technology for removal of zinc and suspended solids from wastewater. The microfiltration system utilized DuPont's Tyvek T-980 membrane filter media in conjunction with the Oberlin automatic pressure filter. The project was undertaken at the Palmerton Zinc Superfund site in April 1990 to verify the ability of the technology to remove dissolved zinc from the site's shallow groundwater. Pretreatment of the groundwater with lime for pH adjustment to precipitate dissolved zinc and other metals was included as part of the technology demonstration program. Analysis of the treated filtrate indicated that the system removed precipitated zinc and other suspended solids at an efficiency greater than 99.9 percent. The filter cake produced during the study passed both the Extraction Procedure (EP) Toxicity and the Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure (TCLP) tests.