Photochemical Destruction of Tetrachloroethylene and Trichloroethylene from the Exhaust of an Air Stripper
Publication: Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 131, Issue 10
Abstract
A novel pilot-scale photochemical reactor is utilized to carry out vapor-phase tetrachloroethylene (PCE) and trichloroethylene (TCE) destruction experiments from the exhaust of a groundwater remediation air stripper. The cylindrical-shaped stainless steel photochemical reactor has an inner diameter of and a length of . Low-pressure mercury ultraviolet (UV) lamps are used as the photochemical energy source to initiate the destruction reaction within the reactor. A cylindrical-shaped air stripper with a volume of is constructed and utilized for transferring the contaminant from the aqueous phase to the vapor phase. Experiments are conducted using the air stripper to determine phase-transfer characteristics of PCE and TCE. The results show good contaminant phase transfer using clean airflow rates of 1.5 and . Next, groundwater remediation experiments are conducted with the air stripper exhaust flowing into the photochemical reactor for contaminant destruction. The first experiment use distilled water contaminated with dissolved PCE, the second experiment use distilled water contaminated with dissolved TCE, and the third experiment use distilled water contaminated with both dissolved PCE and TCE. All three experiments show excellent contaminant destruction efficiencies. This study demonstrates that the photochemical reactor should be included as part of an overall air-stripping PCE/TCE groundwater remediation scheme for complete contaminant destruction.
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Acknowledgments
This study was partially funded by a grant from the New Jersey Water Resources Research Institute (NJWRRI). The writers would like to thank Dr. Johannes Khinast, Dr. Joseph R. Stencel, and Dr. Moshe Lavid for technical assistance.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 131 • Issue 10 • October 2005
Pages: 1441 - 1446
Copyright
© 2005 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Apr 12, 2004
Accepted: Jan 21, 2005
Published online: Oct 1, 2005
Published in print: Oct 2005
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