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PEROX-PURE CHEMICAL OXIDATION TECHNOLOGY PEROXIDATION SYSTEMS, INC. - APPLICATIONS ANALYSIS REPORT
Citation:
Topudurti, K. AND et al. PEROX-PURE CHEMICAL OXIDATION TECHNOLOGY PEROXIDATION SYSTEMS, INC. - APPLICATIONS ANALYSIS REPORT. EPA/540/AR-93/501 (NTIS 94-130325), 1993.
Impact/Purpose:
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Description:
This report evaluates the perox-pure™ chemical oxidation technology’s ability to remove volatile organic compounds (VOC) and other organic contaminants present in liquid wastes. This report also presents economic data from the Superfund Innovative Technology Evaluation (SITE) demonstration and three case studies. The perox-pure™ chemical oxidation technology was developed by Peroxidation Systems, Inc. (PSI), to destroy dissolved organic contaminants in water. The technology uses ultraviolet (UV) radiation and hydrogen peroxide to oxidize organic compounds present in water at parts per million levels or less. This treatment technology produces no air emissions and generates no sludge or spent media that require further processing, handling, or disposal. Ideally, the end products are water, carbon dioxide, halides (for example, chloride), and in some cases, organic acids. The technology uses medium-pressure, mercury-vapor lamps to generate UV radiation. The principal oxidants in the system, hydroxyl radicals, are produced by direct photolysis of hydrogen peroxide at UV wavelengths. The perox-pure™ chemical oxidation technology was demonstrated under the SITE program at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Site 300 in Tracy, California. Over a 3-week period in September 1992, about 40,000 gallons of VOC-contaminated groundwater was treated in the peroxpure™ system. For the SITE demonstration, the perox-pure™ system achieved trichloroethene (TCE) and tetrachloroethene (PCE) average removal efficiencies of about 99.7 and 97.1 percent, respectively. In general, the perox-pure™ system produced an effluent that contained (1) TCE, PCE, and l,l-dichloroethane (DCA) below detection limits and (2) chloroform and l,l,l-trichloroethane (TCA) slightly above detection limits. The system also achieved chloroform, DCA, and TCA average removal efficiencies of 93.1, 98.3, and 81.8 percent, respectively. The treatment system effluent met California drinking water action levels and federal drinking water maximum contaminant levels for TCE, PCE, chloroform, DCA, and TCA at the 95 percent confidence level. The results from three case studies are also summarized in this report. All three case studies represent full-scale, currently operating commercial installations of perox-pure™ chemical oxidation systems. The contaminants of concern in these case studies include acetone, isopropyl alcohol (IPA), TCE, and pentachlorophenol (PCP). In the first case study, the perox-pure™ system treated industrial wastewater containing 20 milligrams per liter (mg/L) of acetone and IPA; the effluent met the discharge limit of 0.5 mg/L for each compound. In the second case study, the perox-pure™ system treated groundwater that was used as a municipal drinking water source. The groundwater initially contained 150 micrograms per liter (µ/L) of TCE, After treatment, the effluent TCE level was 0.5 µg/L, well below the TCE drinking water standard of 5 µ/L. In the third case study, the perox-pure™ system treated groundwater at a chemical manufacturing facility. The groundwater contained 15 mg/L of PCP; after treatment the effluent achieved the target effluent PCP level of 0.1 mg/L. Potential sites for applying this technology include Superfund and other hazardous waste sites where groundwater or other liquid wastes are contaminated with organic compounds. Economic data indicate that groundwater remediation costs for a 50-gallon per minute perox-pure™ system could range from about $7 to $11 per 1,000 gallons, depending on contaminated groundwater characteristics. Of these, perox-pure™ system direct treatment costs could range from about $3 to $5 per 1,000 gallons.