Electrochemical Treatment of Test Fluid Wastewater

Nondestructive testing (NDT) has become an essential tool for inspecting and maintaining military and industrial equipment. The numerous NDT methods produce a range of complex wastewaters, albeit in relatively small volumes. In most cases, these wastes cannot be discharged to the sewer. Consequently, a compact waste-treatment system with the ability to handle a wide range of waste types would allow sites employing NDT methods to continue to focus on inspection and test activities without worrying about waste handling and disposal. ADA is actively developing electrocoagulation/filtration (EC/F) for applications where small volumes of complex oily and emulsified wastes require processing. The EC/F process can capture oils, dyes, oily emulsions, suspended solids, and dissolved heavy metals without the expensive membranes or complex hardware of other techniques. In Phase I of the proposed multi-phase SBIR project, ADA will optimize the EC/filtration components and operating parameters to effectively treat multiple types of NDT wastewater. ADA and project team member Magnaflux USA will develop a conceptual system design and estimate the equipment and operating cost of the technology for the NDT wastewater application. In Phase II, the team will fabricate and demonstrate a full-scale prototype treatment system.