Use of Polymeric Surfactant Infused Substrates in Removal of Emulsions and Aromatic Hydrocarbons from Aqueous Waste Streams

Abstract

Environmental concerns and tightening regulations have taxed the capabilities of current technology to deal with oily waste. Emulsions and low-level aromatic, polyaromatic and halogenated hydrocarbons have proven especially onerous. The properties and potential uses of a new type of chemical compound (US Patent #5,437,793; CAS #173967-80-1, 173967-81-2) for the purpose of de-emulsification removal of organic compounds from aqueous waste streams are discussed relative to enhancing existing technologies and developing new ones. Specifically, the use of treated filter materials is covered for the purpose of enhancing oil-water separation (OWS) technology by using treated filters as post oil water separator polishers. These polishers are generally capable of bringing post OWS water effluent from 150 ppm (parts per million) emulsified oil down below the 15 ppm discharge limit. Additionally, this chemistry can be infused into existing boom materials to enhance performance and minimize water drag-out while at the same time new boom configurations can be constructed using new materials previously unusable because of their lack of attraction for oils. Treatment with polymeric surfactant (PS) chemistry renders such materials oleophilic so that other favorable properties (i.e. buoyancy) can be exploited to provide superior performance and minimize water drag-out.