Spray Irrigation of
Organic Chemical Wastes
RICHARD A. WOODLEY, Senior Sanitary Engineer
Commercial Solvents Corporation
Terre Haute, Indiana
INTRODUCTION
The Terre Haute. Indiana, plant of Commercial Solvents Corporation produces a wide variety of agricultural, industrial, animal health and nutrition and
human health products. As in most industrial operations, production results in
process residues that must be controlled to prevent environmental nuisances and/
or pollution. The process residues may be gaseous, liquid or solid. The Company has systems provided for handling gaseous, liquid and solid residues. This
report will cover only that part of Commercial Solvents Corporation's environmental engineering program that is concerned with the protection of the Wabash
River.
The Terre Haute Plant's water pollution control program consists of eight
pollution control systems, five separate sewer systems and 18 monitoring stations.
This paper will explore only one of the water pollution control systems plus its
associated sewer system and monitoring program.
In August 1965, the Corporation constructed a land application system to replace an anaerobic lagoon system that had been designated for the treatment of
liquid residues from the production of monosodium glutamate, zinc bacitracin
and riboflavin. The land application system was designed to handle low volume,
high BOD waste only. The system has 372 acres of land available for waste treatment. As of April 1968, only about 160 acres have been utilized, but additional
land can be readily equipped as the need arises.
Satisfactory operation during all weather conditions has been experienced.
Continuous operation even during periods of serious flooding by the Wabash River
has also been experienced. The land application site is protected by levees along
the Wabash River and Sugar Creek. As long as the levees are properly maintained
the waste disposal system will be able to operate. Pre-planning and proper equipment maintenance has allowed for continuous operation at minus zero C.
During the period of August 1965, through March 1966, over 14, 000, 000 lbs
of BOD has been adequately treated by the use of the land application system.
The Corporation's Terre Haute water pollution control program has been developed with the full support and cooperation of the Indiana Stream Pollution
Control Board. Monthly monitoring reports covering daily analyses of all wastewater streams are routinely submitted to the Indiana State Boara of Health for its
surveillance.
LITERATURE SURVEY
A cursory review of the publications from the preceding 22 Purdue Industrial
Waste Conferences has revealed that the application of industrial wastes to the
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