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Removal of Chlorinated VOCs from Groundwater and Other Wastewater Streams--Membrane Technology and Research, Inc. (MTR), 1360 Willow Road, Suite 103, Menlo Park, CA 94025-1516; 650-328-2228
Dr. Anurag Mairal, Principal Investigator
Ms. E. G. Weiss, Business Official
DOE Grant No. DE-FG03-98ER82616
Amount: $750,000
Much of the groundwater and wastewater produced by remediation activities at DOE sites is contaminated with chlorinated solvents and other volatile RCRA organics. The current preferred treatment method for these contaminants is air stripping followed by carbon absorption. However, this technique is expensive and produces large secondary waste streams. As an alternative, pervaporation, a low-cost membrane process, can treat water contaminated with volatile RCRA organics. Unfortunately, most groundwater and wastewater contain oil, grease, and dissolved iron, which foul the membranes. The project will develop new process designs, improved modules, and module cleaning procedures to allow pervaporation to be applied to these streams. In Phase I, module-cleaning procedures were developed and demonstrated with modules previously fouled in a field test and with modules fouled by an accelerated laboratory fouling process. A once-through pervaporation field test system was designed and field test sites were selected. In Phase II, the new once-through pervaporation field test system, fitted with built-in automatic cleaning procedures, will be fabricated and tested at DOE or DoD sites. Concurrently, improved low-fouling modules and module cleaning protocols will be developed and tested.
Commercial Applications and other Benefits as described by the awardee: The technology should be used to treat a variety of DOE wastewater streams. Multicomponent industrial wastewaters could also be treated by this technology.