Estimating Volatile Organic Compound Emissions from Wastewater Circulating Aeration Tanks

The need for the control of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) has led engineers to modify wastewater aeration tank systems. In this research, air recirculation has been investigated as a possible VOC control strategy for these systems. A steady-state mathematical model of VOC emission rates has been developed from the fundamentals of VOC convection, volatilization and biodegradation. This model has been used to study the effect of aeration recirculation in enhancing the biodegradation of VOCs in the system, using dichloromethane as a typical VOC. A feasibility study considering plants of various sizes is needed to compare the costs and benefits of air recirculation to other VOC control strategies.