VOCs in Fixed Film Processes. I: Pilot Studies
Publication: Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 122, Issue 7
Abstract
A study of the fate of volatile organic contaminants (VOCs) in trickling filters (TF) and rotating biological contactors (RBC) was performed. Of the target compounds investigated, tetrachloroethylene was volatilized to the greatest extent, while 1,1,2,2-tetrachloroethane was the least volatilized in the TF and bromoform was least volatilized in the RBC. Toluene, o-xylene and 1,3,5-trimethylbenzene were biodegraded to the greatest extent and 1,1,2,2-tetrachloroethane was least biodegraded. Increasing the hydraulic loading tended to increase the proportion of influent VOCs found in the TF effluent. Imposing effluent recycle on the TF increased the fraction of influent VOCs found in the effluent, but also decreased the fraction stripped and increased the fraction that was biodegraded. Increasing hydraulic loading to the RBC tended to increase the proportion of influent VOCs found in the effluent and off-gas. Increasing the RBC disc rotational speed increased the fraction that was biodegraded and decreased the fraction of VOCs found in the effluent and off-gas streams. The TF tended to have greater losses to volatilization than the RBC while the RBC maintained a greater fraction of the candidate VOCs in the process effluent than the TF. Differences between the processes with respect to biodegradation could not be inferred.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
1.
Ashworth, R. A., Howe, G. B., Mullins, M. E., and Rogers, T. N.(1988). “Air-water partitioning coefficients of organics in dilute aqueous solutions.”J. Hazardous Mat., 18, 25–36.
2.
Burns and Roe Industrial Services Corp. (1982). “Fate of priority toxic pollutants in publicly owned treatment works.” U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C.
3.
Corsi, R. L., and Card, T. R. (1991). “VOCs in wastewater: state of understanding.”Proc., 45th Annu. Meeting of the Air and Waste Mgmt. Assoc., Paper No. 91-92.12, AWMA, Pittsburgh, Pa.
4.
Gosset, J. M. (1987). “Measurement of Henry's law constants for C 1 and C 2 chlorinated hydrocarbons.”Envir. Sci. and Technol., 21, 202–208.
5.
Howard, P. H. (1990). Handbook of environmental fate and exposure data for organic chemicals: volume II solvents. Lewis Publishers, Chelsea, Mich.
6.
Hsueh, K. P., Hao, O. J., and Wu, Y. C.(1991). “Removal of volatile organic compounds in a rotating disk contactor: batch and continuous operation.”Res. J. Water Pollution Control Federation, 63, 67–74.
7.
Metcalf and Eddy. (1991). Wastewater engineering: treatment, disposal and reuse, 3rd Ed., McGraw-Hill, Inc., New York, N.Y.
8.
Monteith, H. D., Bell, J. P., Harvey, R. T., Melcer, H., and Romano, L. S. (1992). “Fate of toxics in fixed film wastewater treatment systems.”Proc., 65th Water Envir. Federation Annu. Conf., Paper No. AC 92-053-003, Water Envir. Fedn., Alexandria, Va.
9.
Munz, C., and Roberts, P. V.(1989). “Gasand liquid-phase mass transfer resistances of organic compounds during mechanical surface aeration.”Water Res., 23, 589–601.
10.
Parker, W., Thompson, D., Bell, J., and Melcer, H.(1993). “Fate of volatile organic compounds in municipal activated sludge plants.”Water Envir. Res., 65, 58–64.
11.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. (1990). “Water engineering research laboratory treatability database version 2.0.” Cincinnati, Ohio.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Copyright
Copyright © 1996 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Published online: Jul 1, 1996
Published in print: Jul 1996
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.