Removal of methyl tert-butyl ether from water by pervaporation: bench- and pilot-scale evaluations.

The ability of pervaporation to remove methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) from water was evaluated at bench and pilot scales. Process parameters studied included flow rate, temperature, MTBE concentration, membrane module type, and permeate pressure. Pervaporation performance was assessed based on the calculated mass transport coefficient of MTBE, the single-pass removal of MTBE (only at the pilot scale), and the fluxes of water and MTBE. The observations for MTBE are compared to results for toluene and 1,1,1-trichloroethane, compounds for which removal by pervaporation has been demonstrated. MTBE removal and mass transfer coefficients were lower than for toluene and trichloroethane. However, MTBE removal efficiency improved significantly with increasing process temperatures from 40 to 80 degrees C. With one of the pilot-scale systems, MTBE removal efficiency approached that of the other VOCs. The observed response of pervaporation performance to temperature was attributed to the strong effect of temperature on the Henry's law constant of MTBE.

Field demonstration of pervaporation for the separation of volatile organic compounds from a surfactant-based soil remediation fluid.

As part of a Department of Defense project, the US Environmental Protection Agency was responsible for designing, building and field operating a pilot-scale pervaporation unit. The field site was an active dry cleaning facility on the grounds of Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune in Jacksonville, NC. The overall goal of the project was to remove tetrachloroethylene (PCE) from the soil beneath the dry cleaning shop using a surfactant-based soil remediation fluid and to recycle/reuse the surfactant. In order to reinject the recovered surfactant, the pervaporation unit was required to achieve an average 95% removal of contaminants from the extracted fluid over the duration of the test period. PCE removal averaged 95.8% during peak surfactant levels and exceeded 99.9% in the absence of surfactant, thereby meeting the reinjection requirement. Removal of a group of secondary contaminants at the site, termed Varsol compounds, was monitored via concentrations of three Varsol marker compounds: decane, undecane and 1,3,5-trimethylbenzene. The pervaporation system processed 100,000 gal of groundwater and surfactant solution over a period of 70 days. In order to evaluate and validate process performance, a variety of process variables and properties were monitored over the course of the demonstration. Pervaporation costs are projected to be on the order of $20 per 1000 gal of surfactant solution treated for a moderate size system (10 gpm).

Fate of Terpene Compounds in Activated Sludge Wastewater Treatment Systems.

Terpene-based cleaners are being widely used in industrial cleaning formulations because of their ability to replace suspected ozone-depleting chemicals such as 1,1,1-trichloroethane and 1,1,2-trichloro-1,2,2-trifluoroethane (CFC-113). Substitution of chlorinated solvents with ter-pene-based cleaners, however, is expected to result in increased discharges to wastewater from industrial operations. A pilot-scale study was conducted at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Test & Evaluation Facility in Cincinnati, OH, to quantify the fate of specific terpene compounds in the activated sludge wastewater treatment process. Biodegradation rates of terpenes were estimated from the difference between the influent terpene mass flow rates and the amounts volatilized to air, partitioned to waste sludge, and passed through the treatment process unchanged. Any chemical transformation of the terpene compounds studied was attributed to biodegradation. Analytical methods were developed to determine ter-pene concentrations in aqueous and gaseous media. The fate of two common terpene compounds (d-limonene and terpinolene) were evaluated in three identical pilot-scale systems: (1) a system with a high target spike range (2-10 mg/L), (2) a system with a low target spike range (0.5-2 mg/L), and (3) a control system (no spike). The study showed that the primary removal mechanism for the terpene compounds in the activated sludge process is biodegradation. Typically, greater than 90% of the mass of terpenes entering the aeration basin of the activated sludge process biodegrades to other compounds; volatilization from the reaction basin accounts for less than 10%, while loss to waste activated sludge and the secondary clarifier effluent accounts for less than 1%.