Oil/Water Emulsion and Aqueous Film Forming Foam (AFFF) Treatment Using Air-Sparged Hydrocyclone Technology
Abstract
Many Department of Defense (DoD) activities create waste streams that contain petroleum-based substances (fuels, oils and greases), emulsifying agents, semi-soluble and soluble liquid materials, including fire fighting chemicals such as Aqueous Film Forming Foam (AFFF) and other fire-fighting surrogates used for the suppression of combustible and flammable liquid fuel fires. Common waste stream sources from DoD activities include motor pool and aircraft wash rack wastewater, fuel tank cleaning wastewater, storm drain wastewater and fire fighter training wastewater. Significant research efforts have been conducted by the U.S. Air Force and Navy during the past several years to develop and identify technologies that could effectively treat waste streams with high oil and grease (O&G), total suspended solids (TSS), and/or AFFF within acceptable cost and time requirements. Many different technologies have been evaluated. These included biological treatment, reverse osmosis (RO) and other physical-chemical removal methods. The most effective of all the physical removal methods reviewed and evaluated was Air-Sparged Hydrocyclone (ASH) technology. The ASH system combines froth flotation principles with the flow characteristics of a hydrocyclone. This system has proven to provide excellent O&G separation as well as extremely efficient AFFF removal. The objective of this demonstration was to validate and quantify the effectiveness of the ASH system for removing emulsified fuels, O&G, AFFF (and other fire-fighting foam surrogates), in a commercially viable manner, from a variety of waste streams generated by DoD facilities. The system was evaluated during short-term (1 day) field tests/demonstrations at nine DoD sites from November 2000 to July 2001. Another important objective was to allow a wide audience to witness the ASH technology in operation, facilitating technology transfer.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 2003
- Accession Number
- ADA607005
Entities
People
- Gerard Van Gils
Organizations
- Environmental Security Technology Certification Program