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PER – AND POLYFLUOROALKYL SUBSTANCES FATE AND TRANSPORT IN SEDIMENTS, SAND, AND ADSORBENT MEDIA
Title
PER – AND POLYFLUOROALKYL SUBSTANCES FATE AND TRANSPORT IN SEDIMENTS, SAND, AND ADSORBENT MEDIA
Creator
Manwatkar, Prashik
Date
2022
Description
Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) are two important organic chemicals of the per- and polyfuoroalkyl...
Show morePerfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) are two important organic chemicals of the per- and polyfuoroalkyl substances (PFAS) group that have contaminated land, water, and the air since 1950. The continuous release of PFAS from the surface of land into water is not easy to forecast and an appropriate treatment method needs to be economically viable since there are currently around 42,000 suspect industrial and municipal sites in the United States. For a true reproduction of real-world pollution patterns, we constructed polypropylene tanks, performed laboratory-based experiments, and analyzed the samples using EPA method 533. In this study, we examined the fate and transport of long- and short-chain PFAS, including PFOA, PFOS, and perfluorobutanesulfonic acid (PFBS), from sediments, adsorbent media, and sands under overlaying water tanks. Granular activated carbon (GAC), biochar (BC), and Fluorosorb® (FS) were also added between the contaminated sediments and the sand layer in order to observe capping effectiveness. As one of the best ways to treat contaminated sediments on a large scale, adsorbent beds may reduce contaminants migration and support the degradation of contaminants. We found that all three chemicals were able to pass through the adsorbent layers of 3-4 inches from 4-5 inches of contaminated sediments and reach the top surface of the beds (25-30 inches). In the top 5-7 inches, PFBS concentration varied from 0.28 ppb to 0.78 ppb for all adsorbent tanks for 7 days. Whereas the bottom contaminated sediments concentrations of PFBS were 8518 ppb to 9481 ppb. We also observed the concentrations at top ports increased by 0.59 ppb to 2.31 ppb in 21 days, and ultimately, 0.58 ppb to 7.07 ppb in 69 days. While PFOA and PFOS found different metabolites in all layers, they provided noticeably lesser concentrations in contaminated sediments compared to PFBS. Further, the results of this study can be useful for validating the contaminant transport model predictions by identifying linear or nonlinear sorption equilibrium processes and diffusion-dispersion processes in sediment, sand, and various adsorbent media.
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Using High-Pressure Reverse Osmosis Technique to Desalinate Produced Water
Title
Using High-Pressure Reverse Osmosis Technique to Desalinate Produced Water
Creator
Dallalzadeh Atoufi, Hossein
Date
2023
Description
This dissertation presents a comprehensive investigation into the use of high-pressure reverse osmosis (HPRO) to desalinate produced water (PW...
Show moreThis dissertation presents a comprehensive investigation into the use of high-pressure reverse osmosis (HPRO) to desalinate produced water (PW) in the oil and gas industry, with the aim of developing sustainable water management strategies. The study analyzes fouling mechanisms in HPRO desalination, revealing the applicability of Hermia's fouling mechanism to high-salinity waters and highlighting the negligible impact of complete pore blocking and standard pore blocking in crossflow reverse osmosis (RO) desalination. Furthermore, the research investigates ion transport through commercial polyamide thin film composite membranes using the solution-friction model, elucidating the influence of factors such as pressure, temperature, and crossflow velocity on the initial flux while minimal impact on steady-state flux is observed. The assessment of oil and gas waste discharge in water systems provides insights into potential environmental consequences, and the analysis of the behavior of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in contaminated sediments using passive sampling demonstrates the rapid uptake of shorter-chain PFAS compounds due to their lower sorption potential and faster diffusion rates. The dissertation contributes to the development of sustainable water management strategies, addressing the challenges of produced water treatment and environmental contamination in the oil and gas industry, and offers valuable information on fouling mechanisms, impacts of ion transport mechanisms, waste discharge and PFAS behavior, enabling optimized desalination processes, informed waste management practices, and a better understanding of environmental contamination issues.
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