Wan Namkoong

Bioremediation of diesel-contaminated soil with composting.

The major objective of this research was to find the appropriate mix ratio of organic amendments for enhancing diesel oil degradation during contaminated soil composting. Sewage sludge or compost was added as an amendment for supplementing organic matter for composting of contaminated soil. The ratios of contaminated soil to organic amendments were 1:0.1, 1:0.3, 1:0.5, and 1:1 as wet weight basis. Target contaminant of this research was diesel oil, which was spiked at 10,000 mg/kg sample on a dry weight basis. The degradation of diesel oil was significantly enhanced by the addition of these organic amendments relative to straight soil. Degradation rates of total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) and n-alkanes were the greatest at the ratio of 1:0.5 of contaminated soil to organic amendments on wet weight basis. Preferential degradation of n-alkanes over TPH was observed regardless of the kind and the amount of organic amendments. The first order degradation constant of n-alkanes was about twice TPH degradation constant. Normal alkanes could be divided in two groups (C10-C15 versus C16-C20) based on the first order kinetic constant. Volatilization loss of TPH was only about 2% of initial TPH. Normal alkanes lost by volatilization were mainly by the compounds of C10 to C16. High correlations (r=0.80-0.86) were found among TPH degradation rate, amount of CO2 evolved, and dehydrogenase activity.

A Comparative Evaluation of Maturity Parameters for Food Waste Composting

Four parameters, cation exchange capacity, volatile solids, humification index, and Corg/Norg ratio, were evaluated for three kinds of compost products. An appropriate index of compost maturity for three kinds of food waste compost was cation exchange capacity (ash-free basis). Cation exchange capacity based on ash-free organic matter increased up to 75 ~ 85 meq/100g organic matter during the composting period and finally showed an almost constant value. Volatile solids and humification index (HI) decreased rapidly while temperature increased at the beginning of composting period. Volatile solids decreased rapidly during the composting of ten days and then after little changed. There was a difficulty in evaluating food waste compost maturity using volatile solids content. Humification index may be a good candidate of compost maturity, but more research needs to be done before using it as a maturity index. The Corg/Norg ratio in water extracts was between five and six at the end of the composting periods r...

Biofiltration of gasoline vapor by compost media.

Gasoline vapor was treated using a compost biofilter operated in upflow mode over 4 months. The gas velocity was 6 m/h, yielding an empty bed retention time (EBRT) of 10 min. Benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene (BTEX) and total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) removal efficiencies remained fairly stable approximately 15 days after biofilter start-up. The average removal efficiencies of TPH and BTEX were 80 and 85%, respectively, during 4 months of stable operation. Biodegradation portions of the treated TPH and BTEX were 60 and 64%, respectively. When the influent concentration of TPH was less than 7800 mg TPH/m3, approximately 50% of TPH in the gas stream was removed in the lower half of the biofilter. When the influent concentration of BTEX was less than 720 mg BTEX/m3, over 75% of BTEX in the gas stream was removed in the lower half of the biofilter. Benzene removal efficiency was the lowest among BTEX. A pressure drop could not be detected over a 1-m bed height at a gas velocity of 6 m/h after approximately 4 months of operation. Results demonstrated that BTEX in gasoline vapor could be treated effectively using a compost biofilter.

Adsorption characteristics of siloxanes in landfill gas by the adsorption equilibrium test

Due to the increase in energy cost by constantly high oil prices and the obligation to reduce greenhouse effect gases, landfill gas is frequently used as an alternative energy source for producing heat and electricity. Most of landfill gas utility facilities, however, are experiencing problems controlling siloxanes from landfill gas as their catalytic oxidizers are becoming fouled by silicon dioxide dust. To evaluate adsorption characteristics of siloxanes, an adsorption equilibrium test was conducted and parameters in the Freundlich and Langmuir isotherms were analyzed. Coconut activated carbon (CA1), coal activated carbon (CA2), impregnated activated carbon (CA3), silicagel (NCA1), and activated alumina (NCA2) were used for the adsorption of the mixed siloxane which contained hexamethyldisiloxane (L2), octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane (D4), and decamethylcyclopentasiloxane (D5). L2 had higher removal efficiency in noncarbon adsorbents compared to carbon adsorbents. The application of Langmuir and Freundlich adsorption isotherm demonstrated that coconut based CA1 and CA3 provided higher adsorption capacity on L2. And CA2 and NCA1 provided higher adsorption capacity on D4 and D5. Based on the experimental results, L2, D4, and D5 were converted by adsorption and desorption in noncarbon adsorbents. Adsorption affinity of siloxane is considered to be affect by the pore size distribution of the adsorbents and by the molecular size of each siloxane.

Recycling of Remediated Soil for Effective Composting Of Diesel-Contaminated Soil

Soil contaminated with diesel oil was remediated by the addition of remediated soil. Several mix ratios of contaminated soil to remediated soil were tested. Judging from TPH degradation rate and biochemical parameters, the optimum mix ratio (wet weight basis) was 1:1. In this mix ratio, the first order degradation rate constant of diesel oil based on TPH was 0.099/day. Degradation rate of TPH and total amount of CO2 evolved in this condition were two times larger than those of contaminated soil without adding remediated soil. The addition of remediated soil was a very effective treatment option to facilitate the degradation rate of diesel oil in contaminated soil.

Irradiation effect on leaching behavior and form of heavy metals in fly ash of municipal solid waste incinerator

Fly ash from a municipal solid waste incinerator (MSWI) is commonly classified as hazardous waste. High-energy electron beam irradiation systems have gained popularity recently as a clean and promising technology to remove environmental pollutants. Irradiation effects on leaching behavior and form of heavy metals in MSWI fly ash have not been investigated in any significant detail. An electron beam accelerator was used in this research. Electron beam irradiation on fly ash significantly increased the leaching potential of heavy metals from fly ash. The amount of absorbed dose and the metal species affected leaching behavior. When electron beam irradiation intensity increased gradually up to 210 kGy, concentration of Pb and Zn in the leachate increased linearly as absorbed dose increased, while that of Cu underwent no significant change. Concentration of Pb and Zn in the leachate increased up to 15.5% (10.7 mg/kg), and 35.6% (9.6 mg/kg) respectively. However, only 4.8% (0.3mg/kg) increase was observed in the case of Cu. The results imply that irradiation has significant effect on the leaching behavior of heavy metals in fly ash, and the effect is quite different among the metal species tested in this study. A commonly used sequential extraction analysis which can classify a metal species into five forms was conducted to examine any change in metal form in the irradiated fly ash. Notable change in metal form in fly ash was observed when fly ash was irradiated. Change in Pb form was much greater than that of Cu form. Change in metal form was related to leaching potential of the metals. Concentration of heavy metal in leachate was positively related to the exchangeable form which is the most mobile. It may be feasible to treat fly ash by electron beam irradiation for selective recovery of valuable metals or for pretreatment prior to conventional processes.

Operational Parameters for Composting Night Soil in Korea

Recently composting of organic wastes started to gain popularity in Korea. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of operational parameters on night soil composting. Operational parameters investigated included compost recycle ratio and temperature control. Lab-scale composting reactors were used in this study. At the recycle ratio of 10 percent, reduction of both volatile solids and moisture content was greater than that at the recycle ratio of 0 percent and 30 percent. This result means that composting reaction was the most active at 10 percent recycle ratio. Temperature control played a important role in the night soil composting process. The greatest decrease in volatile solids was observed when the temperature of composting process was set below 60°C. Also, the amount of CO2 evolved was the greatest when the maximum temperature was set below 60°C. Kinetic study indicated that first order kinetics described volatile solids reduction very well.

Toxicological evaluation for bioremediation processes of TNT-contaminated soil by Salmonella mutagenicity assay

This research was performed to evaluate the toxicity for composting and slurry phase bioreactor processes of TNT (2,4,6-trinitrotoluene)-contaminated soils by Salmonella mutagenicity assay. For composting, the percentage reductions of final composts in strain TA98 and TA100 with S9 metabolic activation were 90.3–93.7% and 96.7–97.5%, respectively. For slurry phase bioreactor processes, the percentage reductions of final residuals in strain TA98 and TA100 with S9 metabolic activation were 95.0% and 99.1% for anaerobic, 96.2% and 99.2% for anaerobic/aerobic, and 96.6 and 97.4% for anaerobic treatment. Slurry phase treatment showed higher mutagenicity reduction than composting. It was implied that slurry phase treatment was a more effective process than composting in reducing toxicity. This research has the advantage of speed and ease of performance in comparison to testing of other higher life forms due to the shorter life cycles of microorganisms.

Effect of Sonication and Reducing Agent Addition on Soil Washing of Heavy Metals-contaminated Soil

This research was conducted to estimate the effect of sonication and reducing agent addition on soil washing of heavy metals-contaminated soil. Sonication trained in soil washing did not significantly increased extraction efficiency of heavy metal compared to soil washing only. The extraction efficiency of sonication trained in soil washing was 12% increased for Pb in 0.01M EDTA leaching solution. Pb and Cd showed higher extraction efficiency in case of reducing agent treatment with mechanical shaking than that with sonication. However, the extraction efficiency of Cu and Zn in case of reducing agent treatment with sonication was over 2 times higher than that in with soil washing. Therefore, application of reducing agent addition with sonication or mechanical shaking should be decided differently for pretreatment of soil washing, according to the kind of heavy metal. It was estimated that sonication after adding reducing agent could increase removal efficiency of Zn or Cu-contaminated soil and shorten the treatment time.