Technology Description: The GHEA Associates process

applies surfactants and additives to soil washing and wastewater

treatment to make organic and metal contaminants soluble (figure 1). The process components include a 25-gal extractor, solidliquid separation, rinse, mixer-settler, and ultrafiltration systems.

This technology can be applied to soil, sludges, sediments, slurries, groundwater, surface water, end-of-pipe industrial effluents,

and in situ soil flushing. Contaminants that can be treated include

both organics and heavy metals, non-volatile and volatile compounds, and highly toxic refractory compounds.

In soil washing, soil is excavated, washed, and rinsed to produce

clean soil. Wash and rinse liquids are combined and treated to

separate surfactants and contaminants from the water. Contaminants are separated from the surfactants by desorption and are

isolated as a concentrate. Desorption regenerates the surfactants

for repeated use in the process. The liquid treatment consists of

a sequence of steps involving phase separation, ultrafiltration,

and air flotation. The treated water meets all National Pollutant

Discharge Elimination System groundwater discharge criteria,

allowing it to be 1) discharged without further treatment, and to

be 2) reused in the process itself or reused as a source of high

quality water for other users.

In wastewater treatment applications, surfactants added to the

wastewater adsorb contaminants. The mixture is then treated in

the same manner as described above for 1) water purification, 2)

separation of the contaminants, and 3) recovery of the surfactants. The process results in clean soil, clean water, and a highly

concentrated fraction of contaminants.

Project Description: The performance of the pilot plant was

tested on various PCB contaminated soil matrices, including soils

in excess of 30% clay. The tests consisted of parametric studies

of the extraction, solid-liquid separation, rinse, and ultrafiltration

systems. The project objectives were to establish the operability

and mechanical integrity of the pilot system and to generate

engineering data for commercial scale-up. The test runs were

performed with total recycle of the wash water and regenerated

surfactants.

Results: The results of the treatability study show that the

GHEA process was able to meet New Jersey PCB cleanup

requirement of 2 mg\kg in soils with more than 50% silt and clay.

Bench and pilot-plant tests were conducted on various soils

sludge and water samples (Table 1). Most of the samples were

from New Jersey sites which contain petroleum hydrocarbons,

Figure 1. GHEA Process.

EPA/540/F-94/509

September 1994

Emerging Technology Bulletin

New Jersey Institute of Technology

GHEA Associates Process

United States

Environmental Protection

Agency

Clean

soil

Rinse

Liquid

Extraction

Contaminated

soil

Surfactant

Recycle

Liquid

Phase

separation

Water phase

Ultrafiltration

Recycle

Clean

water Air flotation

Surfactant

recycle Desorption

Contaminant
aromatic compounds, PCBs, coal tar, heavy metals, and oily

sludges. The soil samples typically contain fine silt and clay in the

25-50% range.

For Further Information:

EPA Project Manager:

Annette Gatchett

U.S. EPA Risk Reduction Engineering Laboratory

26 West Martin Luther King Drive

Cincinnati, Ohio 45268

(513) 569-7697

BULK RATE

POSTAGE & FEES PAID

EPA

PERMIT No. G-35

United States

Environmental Protection Agency

Center for Environmental Research Information

Cincinnati, OH 45268

Official Business

Penalty for Private Use

$300

EPA/540/F-94/509

Technology Developer Contact:

Dr. Itzhak Gotlieb

New Jersey Institute of Technology

Department of Chemical Engineering

Newark, NJ 07102

(201) 569-5862

Fax (201) 802-1946

Untreated Treated Percent

Matrix Sample Sample Removal

Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC):

 TCE; 1,2 DCE; Benzene; Toluene 20.13 0.05 99.7%

109.0 2.5 97.8%

 Soil, ppm

 Water, ppb

Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons (TPH): 13,600 80 99.4%

 Soil, ppm

Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs):

 Soil, ppm 380.00 0.57 99.8%

 Water, ppb 6000.0 <0.1 >99.9%

Trinitrotoluene in Water (ppm) 180.0 <0.08 >99.5%

Coal Tar Contaminated Soil (ppm)

 Benzo[a]pyrene 28.8 <0.1 >99.7%

 Benzo[k]flouranthene 24.1 4.4 81.2%

 Chrysene 48.6 <0.1 >99.8%

 Benzanthracene 37.6 <0.1 >99.7%

 Pyrene 124.2 <0.1 >99.9%

 Anthracene 83.6 <0.1 >99.8%

 Phenanthrene 207.8 <0.1 >99.9%

 Flourene 92.7 <0.1 >99.9%

 Dibenzofuran 58.3 <0.1 >99.8%

 1-Methylnaphthalene 88.3 1.3 98.5%

 2-Methylnaphthalene 147.3 <0.1 >99.9%

Heavy Metals in Soil:

 Chromium (ppm) 21,000 640 96.8%

Iron (III) in Water (ppm) 30.8 0.3 99.0%

Table 1. Summary of Treatability Test Results