The primary objective of this project is to develop a practical, low cost and efficient process to degrade PCB-contaminated waters and sediments to the extent that the residual concentrations do not pose a threat to human health or the environment.
This research focuses on three specific goals. The first goal is to conduct a series of laboratory experiments to assess the important photodegradation variables in water and/or sediment. These include light intensity, common ion effect, pH, temperature, humic acid effect, substrate concentration, residence time, catalyst, intermediate and final products, added oxidant and reactor depth. The second goal is to design a solar reactor for water treatment and an on-site shallow pond photocatalytic reactor for sediment treatment. The final goal is to conduct a series of on-site experiments at General Electric (GE) and Alcoa PCB-contaminated sites to assess the viability of the photoreactor processing of waters and dredged, contaminated soils and sediments.
Remediation of the three Massena area inactive hazardous waste sites focuses on removing, isolating and degrading the contaminants associated with the sediments found on each of the sites and surrounding alluvial deposits. Photocatalytic degradation of contaminated sediments offers a potentially effective remedial measure to degrade the contaminants on-site, thereby reducing costs and the environmental problems associated with the relocation of contaminated sediments. SUNY at Oswego staff will work closely with Dr. Hong and industrial cooperators to modify the design and operation of an on-site photocatalytic treatment system.
During the initial phases of the project, a pilot scale reactor capable of batch treating up to three tons of contaminated sediment is being used to determine whether it is technically and economically feasible to use photocatalytic processing. The next phase of the project involves the actual design and operation of on-site treatment systems that are compatible with planned dredging and disposal of contaminated sediments.
