Electrohydraulic discharge treatment of hazardous wastes

Conference · Sun Dec 31 04:00:00 EST 1995

OSTI ID:210239

Willberg, D M; Lang, P S; Hoechemer, R H ^[1]

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1. Environmental Engineering Science, Pasadena, CA (United States); and others

The electrohydraulic discharge (EHD) process is an advanced oxidation technology (AOT) that couples pulsed-power electrical methods to the remediation of aqueous hazardous wastes. This research focuses on the chemical processes initiated during electrohydraulic discharges, specifically, the rapid and complete mineralization of toxic organic substrates in aqueous solutions. Three organic substrates were chosen as test compounds: 4-chlorophenol; 3,4-dichloroaniline; and 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT). In each experiment, 3.5 liters of solution were treated with 40 to 100 7-kJ discharges. For all three species, the initial rate of degradation was linear over 40 discharges, indicating zero-order kinetics. The monotonic variation of the zero-order rate constants with their respective quantum efficiencies indicates that direct photolysis plays a major role in the degradation of organic compounds. To differentiate direct photolysis from electrohydraulic cavitation, a competition kinetics experiment was conducted. Localized oxidative processes at the plasma channel and the effects of adding chemical oxidants were also investigated. Results demonstrate that the EHD process has the potential for rapid remediation of hazardous aqueous waste streams.

• OSTI ID: 210239
• Report Number(s): CONF-9509139--
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

40 CHEMISTRY
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
ANILINE
CHLORINE COMPOUNDS
ELECTRIC DISCHARGES
ELECTROCHEMISTRY
ELECTROHYDRODYNAMICS
HAZARDOUS MATERIALS
LIQUID WASTES
MINERALIZATION
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
OXIDATION
PHENOLS
TNT
WASTE PROCESSING