Grantee Research Project Results
Final Report: Sustain-A-Drain: A Novel Indicative Hydrocarbon Filtration System
EPA Grant Number: SU836142Title: Sustain-A-Drain: A Novel Indicative Hydrocarbon Filtration System
Investigators: Tam, Kawai
Institution: University of California - Riverside
EPA Project Officer: Page, Angela
Phase: I
Project Period: September 1, 2015 through August 31, 2016
Project Amount: $15,000
RFA: P3 Awards: A National Student Design Competition for Sustainability Focusing on People, Prosperity and the Planet (2015) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: P3 Awards , Pollution Prevention/Sustainable Development , Sustainable and Healthy Communities , P3 Challenge Area - Safe and Sustainable Water Resources
Objective:
California’s infrastructure prevents rain event flooding by channeling untreated rainwater into bodies of water, discharging thousands of gallons of potentially reclaimable water into storm drains. Furthermore, stormwater discharge is typically untreated when it enters the environment. Storm drain filtration systems exist to capture common pollutants such as oil from entering waterways. However, current systems do not use calibration methods to know when to change filters and are non-reusable. Sustain-A-Drain’s main objective is to protect waterways and allow possible water reclamation by implementing an inexpensive yet reusable storm drain filter insert system. The proposed system includes a method for saturation indication and a process for filter reuse. The indicator, a novel component, determines the complete saturation level for oil contaminants and facilitates maintenance of the filter. When the filter needs to be washed, a cleaning process that uses an oil detergent removes contaminants from the filter. An oyster mushroom fungus that decomposes hydrocarbons and accumulates heavy metals is used to treat the cleaning effluent. This filtration system uses an environmentally-friendly design that allows stormwater reuse. The research that Sustain-A-Drain plans to complete within the next two years involves the use of a filter fabric that is reusable and cleanable. The experimentation involves the determination of the bioremediation treatment efficiency using COD and UV-Vis spectroscopy. Pilot implementations at Fleet Services at the University of California, Riverside could provide vital contaminant reduction data and grant a new source of water for irrigation purposes. The main objective is to develop a maintenance process that will allow reclamation of storm water and proper treatment of contaminants to prevent harm to the environment.
Summary/Accomplishments (Outputs/Outcomes):
Extensive testing on the indicator and filter was performed to develop a calibration between them. Several 5% by volume solutions of oil in water were passed through test indicators with 82, 90 and 108° angles of contact. The amount of oil adsorbed onto the indicator was determined for each trial; the experiments showed a flaw in the design because the fluid motion within the indicator was unpredictable. A new circular indicator was tested by passing 100, 200 and 300 mL of 5% emulsified oil solutions through the indicator to a filter in a bench-scale design. Regardless of the amount of fluid entering the system, the indicator adsorbed approximately ⅓ the mass of oil entering compared to the mass retained on the filter. Various indicator lengths were tested at 2, 4, 6, and 8 inches in length in a similar manner. As expected, with an increase in the length of the indicator, the fraction of oil adsorbed on the indicator over oil adsorbed onto the filter also increased ranging in values from 0.25 to 0.74. Using this data, a calibration between the indicator and filter can then be determined, depending on the mass of filter. The filter’s ability to capture oil was also tested by saturating it with a 5% oil solution and a 30% oil solution. The effectiveness as well as the reusability was tested by weighing the amount of oil adsorbed onto the material, and weighing the filter after each cleaning procedure. After each cleaning process, the average efficiency of filters was about 80%. Batch studies were conducted on the oil reducing mushroom, Pleurotus ostreatus, to test its decay rate within a basic solution in the proposed bioremediation system. Mushroom samples in a 100% Simple Green solution and a 1:10 solution of a detergent to water gave a decay rate of 1.03×10-2 and 1.31×10-3 grams of mushroom per hour respectively. With retention time of 7 days per batch study, an extrapolated average 34.6% of the mycelia is expected to decay for the pure Simple Green study. For the proposed 1:10 solution study, an average of 4.40% of mycelia is expected to decay. We are currently investigating new indicator methods as well as the kinetics of mycelia in oil and heavy metal removal rates under varying conditions.
Conclusions:
We have developed a maintenance process to efficiently treat stormwater runoff. The filter oil removal efficiency was tested to have an average of 99.2% oil removal. By observing that the length of the indicator affected the ratio of oil in the indicator to oil found in the filter, we were able to calculate the amount of oil that would saturate the filters. With the filter cleaning process, we are able to reuse the filters without losing a significant level of durability. By using the effective 1:10 solution of Simple Green and water, we were able to remove enough oil to enable the reuse of the filters again. By recycling and reusing material, the filtration system is able to endure for a longer period of time than current storm drain filtration systems and not produce waste. Overall, Phase I primarily consisted of optimizing the indicator and the filters for oil saturation, indication, and removal through sustainable methods
Journal Articles:
No journal articles submitted with this report: View all 5 publications for this projectSupplemental Keywords:
water pollution control, stormwater runoff, hydrocarbon filtration, sustainability, organic reduction, mycoremediation, stormwater treatment, phytoremediation, water reclamationThe perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.