Tuesday, November 6, 2007 : 10:50 a.m.

Effective Treatment of MTBE and Breakdown Products Using Uncoated and Peroxide-Coated Ozone Microbubbles

William Kerfoot, Kerfoot Technologies Inc. and A.M. Scheffer, Verhoeve Milieu B.V.

Engineered microbubble systems with ozone (C-SpargeTM) or a combination of ozone and peroxide (Perozone®) have proven to be a powerful means of targeting and effectively eliminating petroleum spill products, like aromatics, alkanes but also the gasoline additive MtBE and the common breakdown product TBA.  This paper will give a short review of the state of the art in ozone microbubble oxidation technology for MtBE removal, and the results of some case studies will be presented and contrasted.
The mentioned ozone-based techniques can be described as “extraction and reaction” mechanisms. The means of extraction is explained by Henry’s Law, drawing compounds through a very reactive oxidizing environment into the gaseous ozone bubble. MtBE is commonly known as a difficult strippable compound. By using specially-designed microporous points resulting in microbubbles with a large specific surface area, MtBE can be stripped easily under the water column pressure. The ozone present in the microbubble fully destroys the stripped compound in an instantaneous reaction. This mechanism maintains a maximum drive for stripping of compounds from the aqueous phase into the gaseous phase, one of the bases of the effective treatment. In some cases, also with MtBE, the reaction of ozone with MtBE results in the byproduct peroxide. This byproduct enhances the ozone oxidation efficiency through the formation of hydroxyl and oxygen radicals, resulting in AOP (Advanced Oxidation Processes). This is the basis of the Perozone®-process, a continuous production and regeneration of OHŸ radicals through reaction of ozone with hydroperoxide. 
This paper discusses the thermodynamics, kinetics, stoichiometry, and delivery of oxidant.

Seven case studies are summarized to contrast ozone microbubble versus peroxide-coated microbubble.  A specific case through closure is used as a detailed example.  Costs are also compared.

William Kerfoot, Kerfoot Technologies Inc. William B. Kerfoot is president of Kerfoot Technologies, Inc. and a Licensed Site Professional in Massachusetts with over 25 years’ experience in site assessment and remediation and over 10 years’ experience in design and implementation of subsurface ozone treatment systems. Dr. Kerfoot has conducted training workshops for AEHS and NGWA on in-situ chemical oxidation and contaminated soils, sediments, and water and serves on the Scientific Advisory Board for the AEHS West Coast Conference. Dr. Kerfoot holds numerous patents in processes and equipment currently used in groundwater retrieval and has recently developed remediation technologies based upon oxidative microbubble reactions.


Petroleum Hydrocarbons and Organic Chemicals in Ground Water: Prevention, Detection, and Remediation® Conference