Optimal design of a hybrid air stripping/pervapouration system for removal of multicomponent VOCs from groundwater

Abstract

Groundwater streams contaminated with volatile organic compounds (VOCs) require proper treatment to comply with drinking requirement restrictions. Air stripping and pervapouration are two common treatment technologies for groundwater contaminated with VOCs. An attractive alternative for VOC treatment may be to combine these two technologies together within the same circuit since this offers potential advantages over the operation of either of these systems alone. The current study focuses on the important issue of determining in an objective and systematic manner how to combine these two technologies to meet the drinking water requirements in the most cost-effective manner. Superstructure optimisation is the framework for hybridisation investigated in this study to determine the optimal treatment network and operating conditions for the treatment units to achieve desired water qualities. Two case studies illustrating the proposed approach are presented and the sensitivity of their optimal solutions to perturbations in certain operating conditions is discussed.