United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
EPA/540/F-94/509
September 1994
SUPERFUND INNOVATIVE
TECHNOLOGY EVALUATION
Emerging Technology Bulletin
New Jersey Institute of Technology
GHEA Associates Process
Technology Description: The GHEA Associates process
applies surfactants and additives to soil washing and wastewater
treatment to make organic and metal contaminants soluble (fig-
ure 1). The process components include a 25-gal extractor, solid-
liquid separation, rinse, mixer-settler, and ultrafiltration systems.
This technology can be applied to soil, sludges, sediments, slur-
ries, groundwater, surface water, end-of-pipe industrial effluents,
and in situ soil flushing. Contaminants that can be treated include
both organics and heavy metals, non-volatile and volatile com-
pounds, and highly toxic refractory compounds.
In soil washing, soil is excavated, washed, and rinsed to produce
clean soil. Wash and rinse liquids are combined and treated to
separate surfactants and contaminants from the water. Contami-
nants are separated from the surfactants by desorptton and are
isolated as a concentrate. Desorption regenerates the surfactants
for repeated use in the process. The liquid treatment consists of
a sequence of steps involving phase separation, ultrafiltration,
and air flotation. The treated water meets all National Pollutant
Discharge Elimination System groundwater discharge criteria,
allowing it to be 1) discharged without further treatment, and to
be 2) reused in the process itself or reused as a source of high
quality water for other users.
In wastewater treatment applications, surfactants added to the
wastewater adsorb contaminants. The mixture is then treated in
the same manner as described above for 1) water purification, 2)
separation of the contaminants, and 3) recovery of the surfac-
tants. The process results in clean soil, clean water, and a highly
concentrated fraction of contaminants.
Project Description: The performance of the pilot plant was
tested on various PCS contaminated soil matrices, including soils
in excess of 30% clay. The tests consisted of parametric studies
of the extraction, solid-liquid separation, rinse, and ultrafiltration
systems. The project objectives were to establish the operability
and mechanical integrity of the pilot system and to generate
engineering data for commercial scale-up. The test runs were
performed with total recycle of the wash water and regenerated
surfactants.
Results: The results of the treatability study show that the
GHEA process was able to meet New Jersey PCB cleanup
requirement of 2 mg\kg in soils with more than 50% silt and clay.
Bench and pilot-plant tests were conducted on various soils
sludge and water samples (Table 1). Most of the samples were
from New Jersey sites which contain petroleum hydrocarbons,
Contaminated
soil
Surfactant
Extraction
_J L_
Liquid
Rinse
fc,
Clean
soil
Recycle
Liquid
Recycle
water
Figure 1. GHEA Process.
Printed on Recycled Paper
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aromatic compounds, RGBs, coal tar, heavy metals, and oily
sludges. The soil samples typically contain fine silt and clay in the
25-50% range.
For Further Information:
EPA Project Manager:
Annette Gatchett
U.S. EPA Risk Reduction Engineering Laboratory
26 West Martin Luther King Drive
Cincinnati, Ohio 45268
(513) 569-7697
Technology Developer Contact:
Dr. Itzhak Gotlieb
New Jersey Institute of Technology
Department of Chemical Engineering
Newark, NJ 07102
(201)569-5862
Fax (201)802-1946
Table 1. Summary of Treatability Test Results
Matrix
Untreated
Sample
Treated
Sample
Percent
Removal
Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC):
TCE; 1,2 DCE; Benzene; Toluene
Soil,ppm
Water, ppb
2013
1090
0.05
2.5
99.7%
97.8%
Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons (TPH):
Soil,ppm
Trinitrotoluene in Water (ppm)
13,600
180.0
80
<0.08
99.4%
Polychtorinated Biphenyls (PCBs):
Soil, ppm
Water, ppb
380.00 0.57
6000.0 <0.1
99.8%
>99.9%
>99.5%
Coal Tar Contaminated Soil (ppm)
Benzo[a]pyrene
Benzo[k]flouranthene
Chrysene
Benzanthracene
Pyrene
Anthracene
Phenanthrene
Fburene
Dibenzofuran
1-Methylnaphthalene
2-Methylnaphthalene
Heavy Metals in Soil:
Chromium (ppm)
Iron (III) in Water (ppm)
28.8 <0.1
24. 1 4.4
486 <0.1
376 <0.1
1242 <0.1
83.6 <0.1
2078 <0.1
927 <0.1
583 <0.1
883 1.3
1473 <0.1
21,000 640
30.8 0.3
>99.7%
81.2%
>99.8%
>99.7%
>99.9%
>99.8%
>99.9%
>99.9%
>99.8%
98.5%
>99.9%
96.8%
99.0%
United States
Environmental Protection Agency
Center for Environmental Research Information
Cincinnati, OH 45268
Official Business
Penalty for Private Use
$300
BULK RATE
POSTAGE & FEES PAID
EPA
PERMIT No. G-35
EPA/540/F-94/509
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