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TREATMENT OF PCP CONTAINING WASTEWATER USING ANAEROBIC FLUIDIZED BED GAC BIOREACTORS
Citation:
Wagner, J. TREATMENT OF PCP CONTAINING WASTEWATER USING ANAEROBIC FLUIDIZED BED GAC BIOREACTORS. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., EPA/600/A-94/050.
Description:
This study evaluates the use of two anaerobic fluidized-bed granular activated carbon (GAC) bioreactors for treating pentachlorophenol (PCP), one of the major toxic compounds found in wastewaters stemming primarily from wood preserving industries. he reactors are fed synthetic solutions of PCP in 95% ethanol, where ethanol is the primary substrate and PCP the cometabolite. arbonate buffer and another solution containing growth nutrients and vitamins are also fed to the bioreactors. OD balances show that most of the effluent COD occurs in the effluent gas, containing 87-94% methane, indicating sustained anaerobic activity in the bioreactors. n addition, analysis of effluent PCP< mono-, di-, and trichlorophenol indicate that PCP is dechlorinated in the reactor to an equivalent molar concentration of 3- and 4-chlorophenol. ince experimental data suggest that PCP is not totally degraded to CO2 and CH4, but is instead converted to monochlorophenols, control of reactor toxicity (without employing carbon replacement) is predicated upon control of the concentration of the primary source of toxicity, the feed concentration of PCP. oth anaerobic bioreactors were operated under similar conditions during acclimation and initial loading of PCP. fter stable performance was achieved, the operating conditions on the reactors were varied to study the effect of empty bed contact time (EBCT) under conditions of constant PCP loading rates with the optimum goal of minimizing the EBCT that permits stable operation to occur.