Economical Toxic Waste Treatment: "Pozone"

IB-854

E.O. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

APPLICATIONS OF TECHNOLOGY:

• Paper pulp bleaching
• Destruction of aqueous toxic waste
• Volatile Organic Chemicals (VOCs) destruction
• Environmental remediation

ADVANTAGES:

• Much cheaper and more convenient way to generate ozone than conventional electric discharge method
• Forms intermediates that also destroy toxic chemicals
• Works on broad range VOCs and other toxics
• Toxics can be in solid, liquid or gas phase
• Final oxidation product is phosphoric acid, which is recoverable and salable
• Can be used to regenerate activated carbon filters, obviating need to transport hazardous waste

ABSTRACT: Berkeley National Laboratory researchers have discovered a novel method to use yellow phosphorous to produce powerful oxidation agents. The Pozone process is a simple, elegant solution to waste treatment problems. Yellow phosphorus is added to water, then oxygen or air is passed through the slurry. Naturally occurring reactions then immediately begin to produce ozone and other intermediate oxidizing agents. It can be applied to destruction of toxics in solid, liquid and gas phases. In laboratory experiments, the process has been shown to destroy 90% or more of toxic compounds. The final reaction byproduct is phosphoric acid, which can be easily collected without contamination by the toxic compounds being treated, and is a valuable commodity. This makes the economics of Pozone very favorable. The process has been demonstrated to work with a wide range of toxics including: nitrobenzene, aniline, benzoic acid, phenol, isophorone, chlorobenzene, PCBs, aliphatic chlorides, toluene, diakyl sulfide, azo-dyes, and organophosphorus pesticides.

Pozone can also be coupled with activated carbon filtering of toxic wastes, using Pozone to regenerate the carbon, and reducing costs. Normally activated carbon absorbents are transported to another location for regeneration, which requires costly hazardous material transportation.

For pulp bleaching, Pozone provides an attractive alternative to chlorine bleaching, which produces a toxic waste stream. Ozone bleaching eliminates the toxic waste stream, but until now has been produced via corona discharge, which results in high energy costs. Pozone can cut the cost of producing ozone in half. Bench scale tests have shown the process will bleach pulp to industry standards of brightness.

STATUS: U.S. Patent #5,332,563. Available for licensing

REFERENCE NUMBER: IB-854