16    REMEDIATION EVALUATION OF INNOVATIVE
TECHNOLOGIES FOR LOW ORGANIC STRENGTH
GROUNDWATER
Albert J. Thomas III, Project Engineer
Carl E. Adams, Jr., President/Principal
Ronald J. Falco, Project Manager
The ADVENT Group, Inc.
Brentwood, Tennessee 37027
Robert T. Campaigne, Director: Engineering & Environmental Affairs
Steven R. Hurd, Head: Waste Treatment & Utilities
The Upjohn Company
North Haven, Connecticut 06473
INTRODUCTION
Background Information
The Upjohn Company is in the process of eliminating operations at a pharmaceutical and specialty
chemical production facility in North Haven, Connecticut. As a result of past operations, the groundwater at the facility contains organic constituents. The ADVENT Group, Inc. of Brentwood, Tennessee, was retained by Upjohn for expert assistance in the development of a treatment system for the
groundwater. This development consisted of evaluating a comprehensive list of alternative treatment
technologies and, subsequently, conducting bench-scale screening testing to determine which technologies were applicable for treating the groundwater from a technical and operational standpoint.
Detailed design data and operational experience were subsequently developed during pilot-scale operation of selected treatment processes.
Project Objectives
The primary objective of the project was to develop a technically sound, operationally reliable
treatment system for the Upjohn groundwater. Specifically, the objectives encompassed:
• Develop representative characteristics of the groundwater to be treated.
• Identify appropriate technologies to be evaluated based on the representative groundwater characteristics.
• Conduct bench-scale screening evaluations to determine which of the technologies are
applicable for treating the groundwater.
• Conduct pilot-scale continuous flow treatability tests to determine design parameters.
• Prepare process design for the selected process configuration.
TECHNOLOGY EVALUATION
Technology Overview
There are a multitude of treatment technologies, touted by vendors, consultants, and even government, as feasible for groundwater treatment. Most of these technologies have had extensive use in
industrial wastewater treatment, and are considered proven and capable of reliable evaluation. Others
were developed solely for the Superfund program, and are considered unproven or of questionable
applicability and reliability. Most technologies evaluated herein have been selected based on full-scale,
or at least pilot-scale, experience. One technology, microwave plasma, has only been examined on a
laboratory basis.
47th Purdue Industrial Waste Conference Proceedings, 1992 Lewis Publishers, Inc., Chelsea, Michigan 48118.
Printed in U.S.A.
143