Removal and Fate of RCRA (Resource Conservation and Recovery Act) and CERCLA (Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act) Toxic Organic Pollutants in Wastewater Treatment

摘要

Two separate studies were conducted to investigate the removal and fate of 28 selected RCRA compounds (0.25 mg/L of each compound) and 19 selected CERCLA compounds (0.55 mg/L of each compound) in conventional activated sludge treatment. In each study, two pilot-scale (35 gpm) activated sludge systems (SRT: 4 days for RCRA study and 8 days for CERCLA study) were operated in parallel at the U.S. EPA Test and Evaluation Facility in Cincinnati, Ohio. One system was spiked continuously with either RCRA or CERCLA toxics to produce an acclimated biomass; the other was spiked intermittently with the same toxics and sampled to determine performance under unacclimated conditions. The selected RCRA or CERCLA compounds did not cause any adverse effects on COD and SS removals. The concentrations of organics (RCRA study) in air emissions indicated that the chlorinated aliphatic solvents were essentially volatilized into the plant air emission stream, whereas the aromatic volatile benzenes were substantially degraded. Additional work is planned to attempt to reduce the analytical variability encountered in the studies.