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 ------- 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 ------- |