Training and Staff Development
For more information, contact Lou Zicari, Director of the Business-Industry Assistance Program, at (716) 645-3446 or zicari@acsu.buffalo.edu
We benefit from very valuable technical support through our relationship with the center.
Calvin C. Chien,
Dupont Corporate Remediation
New York/Bombay Export Project Seeks Participants
Empire State Development is managing a federally funded project to match New York environmental firms with Indian manufacturing facilities seeking pollution reductions. Indian firms from the following manufacturing sectors are participating: petrochemicals, pesticides, chlor-alkali, dyes and pigments, bulk drugs, leather chemicals, metal processing, and metal chloride production.
The project will send a group of New York engineers to Bombay this spring to assist Indian manufacturers in determining baseline assessments for current emission levels and manufacturing costs.
The objective of this engineering mission is to collect information that New York firms will need in order to deliver cost-competitive proposals for pollution reduction and toxic waste management work to Indian manufacturing facilities. A delegation of Indian plant managers will travel to New York in late May to meet with technology providers and tour facilities that have effective environmental management systems.
New York firms providing pollution prevention strategies and technologies to the above manufacturing sectors are invited to work with this project to develop market opportunities in Bombay.
For more information, contact Amy Schoch, project manager for Empire State Development, at (518) 486-6291.
SPIR Funding Will Help Center Help Regional Industries
The New York State Center for Hazardous Waste Management has received funding from the Strategic Partnership for Industrial Resurgence (SPIR) to enhance and expand the services the center offers to assist businesses and industry.
The center plans to use the SPIR funding as a catalyst to bring together companies with common environmental problems, assist companies in preparing proposals to commercialize environmental products, and provide technical assistance leading to job creation and/or retention.
As an example, SPIR funding was recently used to help three New York State metal-plating companies secure external funding to address common concerns in their industry (see article on page 1 of this issue).
Through SPIR funding, the center is supporting an effort by a binational economic development alliance to promote the Environmental Business Sector in the Niagara Region. The Niagara Region Development Corporation and the Greater Buffalo Partnership are working together to increase domestic and export sales by making the environmental sector more accessible to buyers through an international directory.
"SOUND and FURY"
From the walls of Jericho to Shakespeare's (and later Faulkner's) "sound and fury", the power of sound has been acknowledged for millennia. Now scientists and engineers have employed sound waves to destroy pollutants. A recently completed project funded by the NYSCHWM investigated the use of high-frequency sound in destroying trichoroethene (TCE) and hexachlorobutadiene (HCBD).
Conducted by graduate students Daniel Roblee and Peter Merlo under the direction of University at Buffalo (UB) Civil Engineering Professor James N. Jensen, the project was a collaboration between the university and Blackstone Ultrasonics, a Jamestown, NY, manufacturer of ultrasonic equipment.
In the NYSCHWM project, Jensen and his students employed sound waves of 20,000 cycles per second (20 kHz)--about the upper limit of human hearing. When water is ultrasonically irradiated, small bubbles form from the gases trapped in the liquid. These bubbles, called cavitation bubbles, are similar to those produced by a ship's propeller. As the bubbles collapse in the sound field, localized regions are created that essentially reproduce conditions found on the surface of the sun. Although the temperature of the water increases only slightly, the collapsing bubbles approach 5,0000C and about 1,000 atmospheres of pressure. Volatile pollutants are incinerated under these conditions; non-volatile pollutants are oxidized by hydroxyl radicals produced when water is exposed to the extreme temperature and pressure conditions.
The UB team found that about half the initial TCE and 60 percent of the initial HCBD could be destroyed after 30 minutes of sonication (i.e., exposure to ultrasound) with laboratory-scale equipment. The rates of pollutant removal were independent of pH and alkalinity, but increased proportionally with power input. Interestingly, the rates of degradation decreased with increasing initial TCE concentration. This phenomenon has been observed by other researchers with other pollutants, but is poorly understood.
The UB team made two important discoveries. First, by-products of the sonication process were identified. Ideally, a treatment process would convert chlorinated hydrocarbons, such as TCE and HCBD, to mineral products (chloride, carbon, dioxide, and water). Although about 70 percent of the chlorine in TCE is converted to chloride and about 30 percent of the carbon in TCE is converted to carbon dioxide, other by products also were observed. UB personnel quantified significant concentrations of chloroacetic acids and dichloroacetaldehyde from the sonication of TCE. In contrast, 96 percent of the chlorine in HCBD was reduced to chloride.
Second, the UB team showed that scale-up of the treatment process was possible. Blackstone Ultrasonics personnel designed and built a pilot-scale unit for pollution degradation. Rates of HCBD and TCE destruction in the pilot scale were similar to those of the bench scale (when corrected for power input), suggesting that scale-up of ultrasonic reactors is feasible.
Work on the applications of ultrasound to pollution control continues at UB. Studies have been conducted on the ultrasonic destruction of cyanide, dyes, and an herbicide. Questions concerning process economics and scale-up are under consideration as the UB team seeks to unravel what T.S. Eliot called "the inexplicable mystery of sound".
For further information, contact the NYSCHWM at (716) 645-3446.
James N. Jensen is an associate professor in the department of civil engineering at the University at Buffalo.
Barrier Containment Technologies Being Scrutinized for Application in Environmental Remediation
For several years, the center has been assisting DuPont Co. in reviewing and assessing barrier containment technologies for environmental remediation applications. The first phase of this study is completed and the final report has been published in book form (Rumer, R. and M. Ryan, eds., Barrier Containment Technologies for Environmental Remediation Applications, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, NY 1995). The principal contributors to the first report were Andrew Bodosci, University of Cincinnati; David E. Daniel, University of Texas; Jeffrey C. Evans, Bucknell University; and James K. Mitchell, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.
As a follow-up to the first phase, an international workshop was convened in Baltimore, MD, August 29-31, 1995, to continue the review and to discuss the applicability and reliability of containment technologies, including the identification of research and development needs that would advance the state of the art of containment technologies. Because of mutual interests and needs, the workshop was sponsored by DuPont Co., the EPA, and the DOE. The report from that workshop is under preparation by the center and will be available later in 1996.
Center Assists Brownfields Redevelopment Efforts
In response to the interest of economic development officials, industries, municipalities, and others concerned with Brownfields Redevelopment, the NYSCHWM is involved in several efforts to educate stakeholders and evaluate pertinent issues.
The center's Business-Industry Assistance Program recently organized and sponsored an Industrial Roundtable as part of a major state-wide conference on Brownfields Redevelopment in New York State. Through the roundtable, New York State industries were given the opportunity to voice their opinions on, and describe their experiences with, this important environmental/economic development concept. The conference attracted more than 200 participants from industry, environmental services, and government.
The center also is a partner with a New York municipality and several other public and private organizations in a proposal to evaluate the redevelopment of Brownfields involving public properties in communities that have reached build-out conditions.
In addition, the center has recently taken part in an initiative of EPA Region II and the Northeast Hazardous Substance Research Center to identify barriers to redevelopment, find solutions to those barriers, and develop guidance materials for municipal officials.
Through the 28th Mid-Atlantic Industrial and Hazardous Waste Conference (see article on page 8), the center will provide a public forum for discussion of initiatives and recent developments in Brownfields. Remediation standards, innovative technologies, and many other issues impacting Brownfields Redevelopment will be presented by experts in the field.
The New York State Center for Hazardous Waste Management will continue to act as an unbiased source of scientific information and will use its capabilities in technology evaluation and environmental monitoring to assist municipalities, site owners, developers, and other stakeholders in Brownfields Redevelopment efforts.
New Project Reports Available
Analysis of the Multi-Vendor Bioremediation Technology Demonstration Conducted in New York State.
Todd Kufel and A. Scott Weber, State University of New York at Buffalo, March 1996.
The New York State Center for Hazardous Waste Management partnered with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, the United States Environmental Protection Agency through its Superfund Innovative Technology Evaluate (SITE) Program, and three technology developers to evaluate multiple bioremediation technologies demonstrated simultaneously at the Sweden-3 Chapman New York State Superfund Site, located in Monroe County. Technology developers were evaluated for their ability to: 1) meet New York State clean-up guidelines for targeted ketones and chlorinated solvents; and 2) show that bioremediation was the dominant mechanism for contaminant removal. Developers participating in the project, which was conducted during 1994 and 1995, were R.E. Wright Environmental, Inc., demonstrating in-situ field bioremediation; a team from ENSR Consulting and Larsen Engineers, demonstrating an ex-situ biovault process operated under aerobic and sequenced aerobic/anaerobic conditions; and a team from ELI Laboratories and SBP Technologies, demonstrating an in-situ vacuum vaporized well (UVB) technology.
The center recently published a detailed overview of the bioremediation project, which describes each vendorÕs technology, as well as its success in meeting the objectives of the project.
Development of Advanced Oxidation Processes for Decontamination of
PCB-Contaminated Media.
Jeffrey R. Chiarenzelli and Ronald J. Scrudato, State University of New York at Oswego, January 1996.
The goal of this research was to develop an advanced oxidation process capable of destroying polychlorinated biphenyls and other recalcitrant organic compounds in various media. Several AOP technologies were tested and a technology combining electrolysis and peroxidation has been found to be most effective. As much as 90 percent of PCBs in water, soil, and sediment have been destroyed within reaction times of less than five minutes utilizing economic concentrations of reagents (<100 part per million).
Future plans include the optimization and testing of the electrochemical peroxidation process with industrial collaborators on a wide variety of waste streams and adaptation of the process to in-situ applications with the ultimate goal of commercialization.
Copies of these reports can be obtained for $5 by contacting the NYSCHWM.
A. Scott Weber Appointed Executive Director of Center
University at Buffalo President William R. Greiner, with the support of the center's executive board, named A. Scott Weber, Ph.D., as the new executive director of the New York State Center for Hazardous Waste Management, effective July 1, 1995.
Weber is an associate professor of civil engineering at the State University of New York at Buffalo. Known for his contributions to the field of environmental engineering--particularly in the application of biotechnologies to wastewater treatment and remediation--Weber has conducted research on a variety of topics related to contaminant biodegradation and has been active in researching bioremediation of contaminated soil under both laboratory and field conditions. He recently served as the site monitor for a unique collaborative New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and United States Environmental Protection Agency field-scale demonstration project for in-situ and ex-situ bioremediation technologies (see project report on page 5).
In addition, he has been participating in a field-scale demonstration project sponsored by the United States Air Force to evaluate thermally accelerated bioventing for application in cooler climatic regions. Another major theme in his current research is the sequencing of chemical and biological oxidation technologies for enhanced mineralization of xenobiotics. This research has been applied successfully to the destruction of chlorinated organics, including PCBs, fire retardants, s-triazine herbicides, chlorinated phenols, and organics found in coking effluents.
Weber has served as chair of the Water Environment Federation's Literature Review Committee and is currently vice-chair of the Water Environment Federation's Research Council. He has directed the Environmental Engineering Laboratory at the University at Buffalo and served as coordinator of the Environmental Engineering and Science Program within the university's Department of Civil Engineering.
He replaces Ralph R. Rumer, a professor of civil engineering at the university, who served as executive director of the center from its establishment by the New York State Legislature in October 1987 until July 1, 1995. Under Rumer's direction, center funds, which were matched by institutional and industry research partners, were used to support more than 50 research projects at a cost of $8 million.
Executive Board
Daniel A. Abramowicz and David Sterman have been named to the center's executive board. Abramowicz, appointed to the board by the New York State Senate, is manager of the environmental laboratory at G.E. Corporate Research and Development in Schenectady. He is responsible for developing the G.E. environmental research program, which includes remediation, pollution prevention, waste minimization, and product stewardship. Known for his work on biological transformation and degradation of PCBs in Hudson River sediments, Abramowicz earned his bachelor's degree in chemistry and mathematics and computer science at St. Francis College in Loretto, PA, and a doctorate in physical chemistry at Princeton University.
Sterman is deputy commissioner for environmental quality and hazardous waste remediation for the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). DEC commissioner Michael A. Zagata appointed Sterman his designee on the center board. Sterman has served as executive director and director of research for the Legislative Commission on Toxic Substances and Hazardous Wastes and as head of environmental activities for the Business Council of New York State, Inc. He earned bachelor's and masterÕs degrees in environmental engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY.
Abramowicz and Sterman join incumbent members William N. Stasiuk, director of the Center for Environmental Health, NYS Department of Health (designee for Commissioner Barbara DeBuono); Theresa A. Walker, program manager of the NYS Science and Technology Foundation (designee for Commissioner Gargano); John W. Kalas, associate provost for research and development, State University of New York (designee for Chancellor Thomas A. Bartlett); George T. Berry of the Delta Group; Dale M. Landi, vice president for research, State University of New York at Buffalo; and William P. Tully, provost of the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry.
Technical Advisory Committee
Albert D. Venosa, William J. Jewell, and James R. Rhea have been appointed to serve three-year terms on the Technical Advisory Committee of the New York State Center for Hazardous Waste Management at the State University of New York at Buffalo.
Venosa is a research biologist at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Risk Reduction Engineering Laboratory in Cincinnati, OH. He has managed the agency's Oil Spill Development and Research, Sludge Pathogen, and Municipal Water Disinfection programs, and co-manages the Biosystems Technology Development Program. He was a team leader the first year of the Alaska Oil Spill Bioremediation Project and led an independent analysis of commercial products in the second year of the Alaska project.
Venosa, whose work focuses on the development of protocols for testing products designed to biodegrade crude oil and refined products in seawater, fresh water, beach sediments, and soil, earned a doctorate in environmental science at the University of Cincinnati.
Jewell is a professor in the Cornell University Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, and president of Microgen Corporation of Ithaca, NY, an innovative technology commercialization company. The author of numerous publications on biological and chemical remediation processes and methane production, he holds patents for biological-chemical and chemical detoxification processes. Jewell earned his Ph.D. in environmental engineering at Stanford University.
Rhea manages the Syracuse, NY, office of HydroQual, an environmental engineering consulting firm specializing in water quality engineering and the conceptual design of water, wastewater, and hazardous waste treatment processes. He has more than 13 years of experience in the evaluation of the fate and transport of compounds in the environment, assessment of natural attenuation processes for the restoration of contaminated sites, and development of cost-effective treatment processes for the restoration of hazardous waste sites. He has worked as a consultant to a number of industries, as well as many municipal and federal agencies and has authored numerous publications and received a patent for his work on the treatment of radiochemical wastewaters for the Department of Energy. Rhea earned a doctorate in civil and environmental engineering at Clarkson University in Potsdam, NY.
Venosa, Jewell, and Rhea join incumbent members Mark Brown of Blasland & Bouck Engineers; John E. Iannotti of the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation; Andrew Middleton of Remediation Technologies, Inc.; James J. Duffy of Occidental Chemical Corporation; Edward G. Horn of the NYS Department of Health; R. Lawrence Swanson of the Waste Reduction and Management Institute; and Richard A. Poduska of Eastman Kodak Company.
Twenty-Six Technical Sessions to Highlight Mid-Atlantic Conference
More than 100 presentations during 26 technical sessions will be offered at the 28th Mid-Atlantic Industrial and Hazardous Waste Conference. The conference will be held at the Hyatt Regency Buffalo July 15-17, 1996. The theme of this yearÕs conference is Test Tube to Field. The conference is being jointly sponsored by the New York State Center for Hazardous Waste Management and the Department of Civil Engineering at the University at Buffalo. Co-sponsors include the Air and Waste Management Association, Niagara Frontier Section; the American Society of Civil Engineers, Buffalo Section; Empire State Development, Office of Recycling Market Development; the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation; the NYS Department of Health; the NYS Legislative Commissions on Solid Waste Management, Toxic Substances and Hazardous Waste, Science and Technology, and Water Resource Needs of New York State and Long Island; and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
The Mid-Atlantic Conference provides a comprehensive forum on new technologies, practices, and trends in the field of industrial and hazardous waste. This year's conference is expected to attract more than 300 scientists, engineers, and managers from industry, academia, government, and elsewhere. The technical proceedings of the conference will be published in a comprehensive document.
Topics to be addressed in the technical sessions include:
