Hazardous Waste Treatment

Chemical Treatment Physical/Chemical Treatment

Chemical Treatment

It does not make the hazardous substances disappear

It converts the hazardous substance into to another form that is at least less toxic than the original substance

Chemical Techniques
NEUTRALIZATION
OXIDATION PRECIPITATION REDUCTION

NEUTRALIZATION

A waste is considered hazardous if, among other things, the pH is less than 2 or greater than 12.5
Good treatment practice requires that the final pH should be at 6-8 to protect the natural biota

NEUTRALIZATION

Sulfuric (H2SO4) or hydrochloric (HCl) acid is added to basic solutions to reduce the pH
Caustic (NaOH) or slaked lime [Ca(OH)2] is added to acidic solutions to increase pH

OXIDATION

Via the use of chlorine and ozone as oxidizing agents

Via electrolytic oxidation Via wet air oxidation (also known as the Zimmerman Process)

Wet Air Oxidation

It is potentially the most widely applicable of all chemical oxidation methods

It operates on the principle that most organic compounds can be oxidized by oxygen given sufficient temperature and pressure

Wet Air Air Oxidation Oxidation

It is the aqueous phase oxidation of dissolved or suspended organic particles at temperatures of 175 to 325C and sufficiently high pressure to preventnt excessive evaporation Air is bubbled through the liquid

Wet Air Oxidation

The process is fuel efficient Once oxidation has begun, the process is usually self-sustaining In many instances, the addition of metal salt catalysts can increase the destruction efficiency or allow the process to run at lower temperature or pressure

PRECIPITATION

The goal of precipitation is to remove hazardous substances from solution by reducing the solubility and precipitating the substances
This is often applied to metals

REDUCTION

Although most heavy metals readily precipitate as hydroxides, hexavalent chromium (Cr+6) must be reduced to its trivalent form (Cr+3) before it will precipitate Reduction is usually done with sulfur dioxide (SO2) or sodium sulfite (NaHSO3)

REDUCTION
3SO2 + 2H2CrO4 Cr2(SO4)3 +2H2O
Because the reaction proceeds rapidly at low pH, an acid is added to control the pH

Chemical/Physical Treatment

The waste is not detoxified but only concentrated for further treatment or recovery
Several treatments are used to separate hazardous waste from aqueous solution.

Chemical/Physical Techniques
CARBON ADSORPTION DISTILLATION ION EXCHANGE ELECTRODIALYSIS REVERSE OSMOSIS SOLVENT EXTRACTION

CARBON ADSORPTION

Adsorption is a mass-transfer process in which gas vapors or chemicals in solution are held to a sold by intermolecular forces (e.g. hydrogen bonding and van der Waals interactions) It is a surface phenomenon

CARBON ADSORPTION

Pressure vessels having a fixed bed are used to hold the adsorbent Common adsorbents:
o
o o

Activated carbon Molecular sieves Silica gel Activated alumina

CARBON ADSORPTION

The active sites become saturated at some point in time If the adsorbed organic material has commercial value the bed is regenerated by passing stream through it The vapor-laden stream is condensed and the organic fraction is separated from water

CARBON ADSORPTION

If the organic compounds have no commercial value, the carbon may either be incinerated or shipped to the manufacturer for regeneration

DISTILLATION

It is the separation of more volatile materials from less volatile ones by a process of vaporization When a liquid mixture of two or more components is brought to the boiling point of the mixture, a vapor phase is created above the liquid phase

DISTILLATION

If the vapor pressure of the pure components are different then the constituents are different having the higher vapor pressure will become more concentrated in the vapor phase than the constituents having the lower vapor pressure If the vapor phase is cooled, a partial separation of the constituents will result

ION EXCHANGE

In ion exchange, the waste stream containing the ion to be removed is passed through a bed of resin The resin is selected to remove either cations or anions In the exchange process, ions of like charge are removed from the resin surface in exchange for ions in solution

ION EXCHANGE

When the bed becomes saturated with the exchanged ion, it is shut down and the resin is regenerated by passing a concentrated solution containing the original ion (typically hydrogen or sodium) back through the bed The exchanged pollutant is forced off the bed in a concentrated form that can be recycled

ION EXCHANGE

During the ion exchange, the normal flow pattern is downward through the bed Because the surface of the bed acts like a filter, the regeneration is often countercurrent, that is, the regeneration solution is pumped into the bottom of the column and the flow is upward

ELECTRODIALYSIS

The electrodialysis unit uses a membrane to selectively retain or transmit specific molecules The membranes are thin sheets of ion exchange resin reinforced by a synthetic fiber backing Cation membranes are placed alternate with anion membranes

ELECTRODIALYSIS

An electric potential is applied across the ion to provide the motive force for ion migration Cation membranes permit passage of only positively charged ions, while anion membranes only allow negatively charge ions to pass

REVERSE OSMOSIS

Osmosis is the spontaneous transport of a solvent from a dilute solution to a concentrated solution across an ideal semipermeable membrane that impedes the passage of the solute but allows the solvent to flow Solvent flow can be reduced by exerting pressure on the solution side of the membrane

REVERSE OSMOSIS

If the pressure is increased above the osmotic pressure on the solution side, the flow reverses Pure solvent will then pass from the solution into solvent

SOLVENT EXTRACTION

Also called liquid extraction

In the solvent extraction process, the solvent and the waste stream are mixed to allow mass transfer of the constituents form the waste to the solvent

SOLVENT EXTRACTION

The wastewater is contacted with a solvent having a greater solubility for the target contaminants than the wastewater
The contaminants will tend migrate from the wastewater into the solvent