Field-Scale Evaluation of Aquifer and Wastewater Cleanup Using a Mobile Oxidation Pilot Plant (MOPP) : Phase I. Assembly and Preliminary Testing

Improper handling, storage and disposal of organic substances is responsible for a significant number of environmental contamination incidents in Illinois. Although many methods are available for the treatment of organic contaminants in industrial wastewater and contaminated ground water, most methods have drawbacks associated with them. Most treatment processes currently used for the cleanup of organic contaminants in ground water and industrial wastewater simply transfer the contaminant between media, rather than destroy it. There is a need for a treatment process which can convert hazardous organic chemicals to harmless by-products, is universally applicable to various organic contaminants, and is practical for use on dilute waste streams. Another desirable feature would be the ability to skid- or trailer-mount the process, to make it transportable for cleanup of contamination at remote locations. A group of treatment processes known as Advanced Oxidation Processes (AOPs) rely on the generation of free-radicals in sufficient quantity to destroy organi c contaminants in water. Examples of such processes are ozonation in combination with ultraviolet radiation (UV), ozonation in combination with hydrogen peroxide addition, and hydrogen peroxide in combination with UV. The effectiveness of these processes is due to the generation of hydroxyl radical, one of the most powerful known solution-phase oxidants. Because of this, the advanced oxidation processes have the capability to convert organic contaminants entirely to innocuous substances such as carbon dioxide. Although the advanced oxidation processes have been extensively studied in the laboratory, very few pilot or full-scale studies have been reported. Engineers have been understandably reluctant to specify AOPs in treatment process design, because reliable design, cost and operating information have not been readily available. The purpose of this project was to assemble a mobile pilot plant which can be taken to field sites and operated to provide the information needed to facilitate the acceptance of these clean treatment processes by engineers and administrators. This report describes the design and capabilities of the assembled Mobile Oxidation Pilot Plant (MOPP), as well as some preliminary results from limited testing.