Full-Scale Treatment of Field Military Wastewaters
LAWRENCE K. WANG, Assistant Professor
Department of Chemical and Environmental Engeering
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Troy, New York 12180
ROBERT G. ROSS, Chemist
VINCENT J. CICCONE, Deputy Chief
Sanitary Sciences Division
U.S. Army Mobility Equipment Research
and Development Center
Fort Belvoir, Virginia 22060
INTRODUCTION
U.S. Army Mobility Equipment Research and Development Center (US AMERDC) is
conducting extensive research programs concerning the treatment of various field military
wastewaters, such as laundry wastewaters, kitchen and dining room wastewaters, shower
and lavatory wastewaters, human wastes, hospital wastewaters, photographic wastewaters,
washrack wastewaters, and various combined wastewaters. Under a program sponsored by
the USAMERDC, Calspan Corporation (1) has surveyed and documented the physical,
chemical and biological characteristics of the aforementioned waste streams. Special
emphasis of this paper is placed on the mobile treatment of field kitchen, laundry and
shower wastewaters. A logical approach to the preliminary process selection, and a
subsequent technical approach to the laboratory-scale and full-scale treatability studies are
presented. The mechanism of the selected treatment system is also discussed.
There are about seven major factors which would affect the selection of a field military
waste treatment system: a) the characteristics of the target wastes; b) the level of waste
treatment required; c) the mobility of treatment facility; d) the simplicity of installation and
treatment operation; e) the compatibility of waste treatment facilities with other field
military operations; 0 the capital and O&M costs; and g) the preference of military
administration and management. Although these factors are not of equal importance, they
all should be considered to a reasonable extent.
First of all, the characteristics of three target waste streams (i.e., the field kitchen,
laundry and shower wastewaters) should be understood. Reference 1 has presented the
volumes and the concentration ranges of these waste streams in detail. It has been learned
that they contain nonhazardous anionic surfactants and other dissolved and suspended
solids. So far there are no specific effluent discharge standards for controlling the military
field operations. It is suggested that the level of waste treatment be equivalent to the
secondary biological waste treatment.
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