Removal of Stabilizing Agents, Emulsions and Oils from Air Force Wastewaters Using Polymeric Gels

Liquid wastes generated during the cleaning of air craft (wash rack waters) and fire training exercises using aqueous film-forming foams are becoming more difficult to dispose because of increasingly restrictive environmental regulations. Ideally, wastewater components such as surfactants, detergents, and oils should be removed from these waste streams prior to discharge to a waste water treatment facility because of their large chemical oxygen demands. Foster-Miller proposes to combine a newly emerging Engineered Response gel technology with specialized process equipment to produce a regenerative, cost effective and portable system for treating these wastewaters in a regulatory compliant manner. The key innovation involves a new class of polymeric gels that can be tailored to adsorb surface active agents and chemically-stabilized oil emulsions at loadings which could approach 50 times their weight of the gel. The Phase I program focuses on the synthesis and characterization of the polymeric gels in synthetic wastewaters with respect to both adsorption and regeneration and the design and cost estimate of a prototype field demonstration unit. The Phase II program would involve demonstration of the unit at an AF facility.