Cost/benefit analysis comparing ex situ treatment technologies for removing carbon tetrachloride from Hanford groundwater

摘要

Pacific Northwest Laboratory conducted a cost/benefit and performance analysis to compare ex situ technologies that can be used to destroy the carbon tetrachloride (CCl(sub 4)) in the ground water of Hanford's 200 West Area. The objective of this work was to provide a direct quantitative and qualitative comparison of competing technologies. The technologies examined included a biological system, the Thermochemical Environmental Energy System II (TEES II), and a UV/oxidation system. The factors examined included key system operation parameters, impact on inorganic contaminants in the ground water, and secondary waste production. The cost effectiveness of these destruction technologies was also compared to the cost for an air stripping/granular activated carbon (AS/GAC) system. While the AS/GAC system appeared to be more cost effective at many levels than the CCl(sub 4) destruction technologies, the secondary waste produced by this system may lead to significant cost and/or regulatory problems. The factors with the greatest influence on cost for each destruction technology are as follows: nutrient requirements for both of the biological systems, electricity requirements and the type of unit operations for the TEES II process, and electricity requirements for UV/oxidation.