Relative Impact on GAC Usage Rates of Operating Strategies for Treatment of Contaminated Groundwater
Publication: Practice Periodical of Hazardous, Toxic, and Radioactive Waste Management
Volume 12, Issue 2
Abstract
The former Nebraska Ordnance Plant has groundwater contaminated with a mixture of trichloroethylene (TCE) and the high explosive RDX that is treated in a system of eight granular activated carbon (GAC) contactors. A mathematical model was utilized to simulate alternative operating scenarios along with variable influent concentrations. In this study, blending effluent from parallel columns resulted in the lowest GAC usage rate when the target effluent was . Lead-lag operation was best when the target effluent was . Only between a target effluent of 0.1 and 0.3 did the percent of the mass transfer zone (MTZ) contained in the column become important. Even then, selection was more sensitive to changes in the target effluent value than the percent of the MTZ contained in the column. Decreasing the TCE influent concentration prior to the GAC treatment system by air stripping may reduce the GAC replacement costs but has significant new capital costs. Because contaminant levels in the extraction wells vary, influent segregation has the potential to reduce GAC usage rates by up to 65% with a relatively low capital expenditure.
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Acknowledgments
The writers would like to thank Environmental Chemicals Corporation (ECC) personnel (Vince Stallbaumer, Tim Thayer, and David Miller) for sharing operational and cost data for the NOP treatment plant, as well as several fruitful discussions on the feasibility and practicality of the alternative operating scenarios. Yun Hyun is acknowledged for preparing the report which served as a starting point for this study.
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Information
Published In
Practice Periodical of Hazardous, Toxic, and Radioactive Waste Management
Volume 12 • Issue 2 • April 2008
Pages: 60 - 69
Copyright
© 2008 ASCE.
History
Received: Apr 14, 2006
Accepted: Oct 3, 2007
Published online: Apr 1, 2008
Published in print: Apr 2008
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