&EPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
EPA/540/M5-89/012
November 1989
SUPERFUND INNOVATIVE \
TECHNOLOGY EVALUATION
Demonstration Bulletin
Ultraviolet Radiation and Oxidation
Ultrox International
TECHNOLOGY DESCRIPTION: The ultraviolet (UV)
radiation/oxidation treatment technology developed by
Ultrox International uses a combination of UV
radiation, ozone, and hydrogen peroxide to oxidize
organic compounds in water. Various operating
parameters can be adjusted in the Ultrox® system to
enhance the oxidation of organic contaminants. These
parameters include hydraulic retention time, oxidant
dose, UV radiation intensity, and influent pH level.
A schematic of the Ultrox system is shown in Figure
1. The treatment system is delivered on four skid-
mounted modules, and includes the following major
components:
• UV radiation/oxidation reactor module
• Ozone generator module
• Hydrogen peroxide feed system
• Catalytic ozone decomposer (Decompozon) unit
for treating reactor off-gas
Treated Off Gas
Catalytic _JO|,_ Reactor Off Gas
Ozone Decomposer ' ''
Cooling Water
Water Chillej "
Ground Watery
Ozone
*\ Generatoi
Compressed Air
Treated
Effluent
] Ultrox
UV/Oxidatioh
Reactor
Hydrogen Peroxide
Pooling Water
Return
Air Compressor
Figure 1. Isometric view of Ultrox System.
The Icommercial-size reactor used for the SITE
Demonstration is 3 feet, long by 1.5 feet wide by 5.5
feet High. The reactor is divided by five vertical baffles
into six chambers. Each chamber contains four UV
lamps as well as a diffuser which uniformly bubbles
and distributes ozone gas into the groundwater being
treate'd. •
WASTE APPLICABILITY: This treatment technology
is intended to destroy dissolved organic contaminants,
including chlorinated hydrocarbons and aromatic
compounds, that are present in wastewater or
groundwater with low levels of suspended solids, oils,
and grease.
DEMONSTRATION RESULTS: The SITE Demon-
stration was conducted at a former drum recycling
facility in San Jose, California, over a 2-week period in
February and March 1989. Approximately 13,000
gallons of groundwater contaminated with volatile
organic compounds (VOC) from the site were treated
in the Ultrox system during 13 test runs.-During the
first i11 runs, the 5 operating parameters were
adjusted to evaluate the system. The last 2 runs were
conducted under the same conditions as Run 9 to
verify, the reproducibility of the system's performance.
To evaluate the performance of each run, the
concentrations of indicator VOCs in the effluent were
analyzed overnight. Three of the 44 VOCs identified in
the groundwater at the site .were selected as indicator
VOCs. These indicator VOCs were trichloroethylene
(TCE); 1,1 dichloroethane (1,1-DCA); and 1,1,1-
trichloroethane (1,1,1-TCA). TCE was selected
because it is a major volatile contaminant at the site,
and the latter two VOCs were selected because they
are relatively difficult to oxidize.
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Key findings from the Ultrox demonstration are
summarized as follows:
• The groundwater treated by the Ultrox system met
the applicable National Pollutant Discharge
Elimination System (NPDES) standards at the 95
percent confidence level. Success was obtained
by using a hydraulic retention time of 40 minutes;
ozone dose of 110 mg/L; hydrogen peroxide dose
of 13 mg/L; all 24 UV lamps operating; and
influent pH at 7.2 (unadjusted).
• There were no volatile organics detected in the
exhaust from the Decompozon unit.
• The Decompozon unit destroyed ozone in the
reactor off-gas to levels less than 0.1 ppm (OSHA
Standards). The ozone destruction efficiencies
were observed to be greater than 99.99 percent.
• The Ultrox system achieved removal efficiencies
as high as 90 percent for the total VOCs present
in the groundwater at the site. The removal
efficiencies for TCE were greater than 99 percent.
However, the maximum removal efficiencies for
1,1 -DCA and 1,1,1-TCA were about 65 and 85
percent, respectively (Table 1).
Table 1. Performance Data During Reproducible Runs
• Within the treatment system, the removals of 1,1-
DCA and 1,1,1-TCA appear to be due to both
chemical oxidation and stripping. Specifically,
stripping accounted for 12 to 75 percent of the
total removals for 1,1,1-TCA, vinyl chloride, and
other VOCs.
• No semivolatiles, RGBs, or pesticides were found
in the groundwater at the site. Among the VOCs,
the contaminant present at the highest
concentration range (48 to 85 ng/L) was TCE.
The groundwater also had contaminants such as
1,1-DCA and 1,1,1-TCA in the concentration
ranges of 10 to 13 pg/L and 3 to 5 pg/L,
respectively.
• The organics analyzed by Gas Chromatography
(GC) methods represent less than 2 percent of
the total organic carbon (TOG) present in the
water. Very .low TOG removaj occurred, which
implies that partial oxidation of organics (and not
complete conversion to carbon dioxide and water)
took place in the system.
A Technology Evaluation Report and an Application
Analysis Report describing the complete
demonstration will be available in the Spring of 1990.
Mean Influent
Run Number: 9
TCE
1,1 -DCA
1,1,1-TCA
Total VOCs
Run Number: 12
TCE
1,1 -DCA
1,1,1-TCA
Total VOCs
Run Number: 13
TCE
1,1 -DCA
1,1,1-TCA
Total VOCs
65
11
4.3
170
52
11
3.3
150
49
10
3.2
120
Mean Effluent
1.2
5.3
0.75
16
0.55
3.8
0.43
12
0.63
4.2
0.49
20
Percent
Removal
98
54
83
91
99
65
87
92
99
60
85
83
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:
EPA Project Manager:
Norma M. Lewis
U.S. EPA
Office of Research and Development
Risk Reduction Engineering Laboratory
26 West Martin Luther King Drive
Cincinnati, OH 45268
(513) 569-7665 (FTS: 684-7665)
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Center for Environmental Research
Information
Cincinnati OH 45268
BULK RATE
POSTAGE & FEES PAID
EPA
PERMIT No. G-35
Official Business
Penalty for Private Use $300
EPA/600/M-89/014
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