Catalyzed Destruction of Halogenated Organic Vapors

说明(申请人提供)：氯化有机化合物，包括三氯乙烯(TCE)和四氯乙烯(PCE)，在《安全饮用水法》监管的有机污染物中占主导地位。研究表明，当母亲饮用含有三氯乙烯和四氯乙烯的水时，可能会发生某些出生缺陷，包括心脏缺陷；儿童白血病的发病率似乎更高；成年人的肝脏问题和癌症风险增加也可能与饮用被这些污染物污染的水有关。这项提议是因为需要开发新的技术来处理TCE和PCE，这两种物质污染了大多数超级基金网站。我们建议使用催化转化器来破坏这些有毒气体，将它们转化为二氧化碳和盐酸，这些气体很容易回收和中和。该技术的新颖之处在于，在空气中含有PCE和/或TCE蒸气的催化转化器流入流中添加了丙烷等化学还原气体，以保护催化剂免受中毒，从而克服了广泛商业化实施的主要障碍。催化转化器可以部署在目前通过颗粒活性碳吸附处理TCE或PCE的任何地方--这是唯一被广泛接受的技术。这将是一个重大的进步，因为转化器将在现场销毁污染物，而不是将它们转移到另一种介质(活性碳)，以便随后在危险废物填埋场处置。该系统在实验室中对各种氯化有机物都有很好的效果。在此，我们请求提供资金，以便在现场对该系统进行长时间连续运行的全面测试，以便获得有关催化剂寿命和运行成本的关键信息。如果成功，催化焚烧炉可能成为氯化有机蒸气的标准处理技术。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Chlorinated organic compounds, including trichloroethylene (TCE) and perchloroethylene (PCE), appear prominently among the organic contaminants regulated by the Safe Drinking Water Act. Studies suggest that certain birth defects, including heart defects, may occur when mothers drink water containing TCE and PCE; the incidence of childhood leukemia appears to be higher; and liver problems and an increased risk of cancer in adults may also be associated with drinking water contaminated with these pollutants. This proposal is driven by the need to develop new technologies to treat TCE and PCE, which contaminate most Superfund sites. We propose using a catalytic converter to destroy these toxic vapors converting them into carbon dioxide and hydrochloric acid, which is easily recovered and neutralized. The technology is novel in that a chemically reducing gas such as propane is added to the catalytic converter influent stream, containing PCE and/or TCE vapor in air, in order to protect the catalyst from poisoning, and thereby overcome the major obstacle to widespread commercial implementation. The catalytic converter could be deployed wherever TCE or PCE is currently treated by absorption onto granular activated carbon - the only widely accepted technology. This would be a major advance because the converter would destroy the contaminants on site, rather than transfer them to another medium (activated carbon) for subsequent disposal at a hazardous waste landfill. The system has worked well in the laboratory on a wide variety of chlorinated organics. Here we request funding to fully test the system in the field for prolonged periods of continuous operation in order to gain critical information concerning catalyst lifetime and operation costs. If successful, the catalytic incinerator could become the standard treatment technology for chlorinated organic vapors.