GROUNDWATER AIR STRIPPING - EFFECT ON WATER TOXICITY

An air stripping unit was designed to reduce groundwater hydrocarbon c ontent and biotoxicity to acceptable levels. A pilot plant study was c onducted to determine the water treatability and to optimize the comme rcial unit design conditions. A measurement of the pilot plant effluen t toxicity was obtained from ''Microtox'' analysis and rigorous bio-as says. These results indicated that reduction of the wafer hydrocarbon content to permitted discharge limits was accompanied by the eliminati on of wafer toxicity. The Onda mass transfer model was used to prepare the commercial unit design, A post-installation evaluation indicated that the model gave a good representation of the commercial unit perfo rmance. Toxicity reductions observed in the pilot plant were also obse rved in the commercial unit.