The paper reviews the applicability of catalytic oxidation to control ground-water air stripping gaseous effluents, with special attention to system designs and case histories. The variety of contaminants and catalyst poisons encountered in stripping operations are also reviewed. Air stripping is an efficient and cost effective way to remove volatile organic contaminants from groundwater and soil. Unfortunately, these contaminants are transferred to the air where they may continue to pose environmental and health threats. Few options are available for their control. Vapor-phase carbon adsorption and thermal incineration are the two treatment methods which have been applied most often; however, both have some disadvantages. Adsorption merely transfers the contaminant to a solid phase which, in turn, requires disposal or regeneration. Thermal incineration may be expensive, since it requires a substantial energy input to destroy dilute gas-phase contaminants. A new alternative is catalytic oxidation. Like thermal incineration, it is an ultimate disposal method but, since it operates at much lower temperatures, the energy costs are also lower.

Includes bibliographical references. Microfiche.