EVALUATING aeration-stripping media on the pilot scale

• Published in: Journal - American Water Works Association 2002-09, Vol.94 (9), p.97-111
• Main Authors: NARBAITZ, ROBERTO M., MAYORGA, WILBUR J., TORRES, PHILLIP, GREENFIELD, JEFFREY H., AMY, GARY L., MINEAR, ROGER A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Air Stripping; Applied sciences; Chemical engineering; Coefficients; Contaminants; Contamination; Design; Design engineering; Drinking water and swimming-pool water. Desalination; Exact sciences and technology; Groundwater; Henry law; Liquid phases; Liquids; Mass transfer; Neural networks; Organic chemicals; Pollution; Pressure reduction; research on the cutting edge; Studies; VOCs; Volatile Organic Chemicals; Volatile organic compounds; Volatility; Water quality; Water treatment; Water treatment and pollution; Water utilities
• ISSN: 0003-150X; 1551-8833
• DOI: 10.1002/j.1551-8833.2002.tb09543.x

A pilot‐scale air‐stripping study evaluated the performance of numerous full‐size packing materials in the removal of 11 contaminants in up to 10 flow conditions within the range encountered in practice. The overall liquid phase mass transfer coefficients (KLa) were calculated based on the concentrations within the packing (i.e., excluding end effects). For the operating conditions tested, KLa was greatly affected by the liquid loading. The volumetric air‐to‐water (A:W) ratio and the stripping factor (R) had very limited effect on KLa, primarily because the stripping factors were significantly > 1. At the various A:W ratios, the authors found distinct relationships between KLa and pressure drop, which indicated that A:W = 25 was more effective than A:W = 50 and A:W = 100. Because the various packing materials performed quite differently, the optimal designs for the various packings will consist of air‐strippers of somewhat different dimensions operating under different operating conditions. However, the packing materials' low contribution toward the overall cost and the similarity of the various designs reduce the effect of using different materials. Space and height restrictions, tendency to foul, and ease of cleaning may be more critical design factors in the selection of packing.