Carbon cleans up industry wastes How widely applicable is activated carbon to the treatment of industrial waste waters, Calgon Corp. wanted to know. To find out, the Pittsburgh activated carbon maker conducted an extensive survey on waste water samples collected from a broad range of industrial facilities. The results were described last month in Vancouver, B.C., at the 4th Joint Chemical Engineering Conference of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers and the Canadian Society for Chemical Engineering. Data from the survey can essentially serve as a reference in consideration of treatment alternatives for a given waste water problem. Calgon has grouped the data according to the Department of Commerce's standard industrial classification (SIC) numbers of the industries generating the waste waters. In its survey, Calgon obtained 222 samples of industrial waste waters from 68 different manufacturing operations. It tested each sample for pH, suspended solids, total organic carbon (TOC), and adsorption. For 43 samples, selective removal of color was evaluated and for 13 samples selective removal of phenol. All told, the testing included 370 adsorption isotherm tests. Overall, samples fall into four groups according to organic load. Twenty-four samples contained less than 100 mg. per liter TOC; 100 contained 100 to 1000 mg. per liter; 86 contained 1000 to 10,000 mg. per liter; and 12 contained more than 10,000 mg. per liter. On treatment with activated carbon, 140 samples showed a TOC reduction of more than 90%, 29 a reduction of 85 to 90%, and 53 less than 85%. Of the 42 samples tested for color reduction, 36 showed a reduction of more than 95%, five a reduction of 90 to 95%, and one less than 90%. Of the 13 tested for phenol removal, 12 showed a reduction of more than 99%. Donald G. Hager, director of marketing for Calgon adsorption systems, notes t h a t sewage can be treated successfully at most volume levels for 10 to 30 cents per 1000 gallons. The samples in the survey, he says, would Continued on page 27 Isotherm test with activated carbon
C&EN Talks With... Derek P. Gregory A coal-fired airplane? Not literally— but chemically speaking it may not be far away. Dr. Derek P. Gregory, assistant director for engineering research at the Institute of Gas Technology, is a firm believer in the future of hydrogen fuels. And one of the first places where mass produced hydrogen could appear is in the aircraft fuels industry. Dr. Gregory, an off-duty sailor and sculptor, believes that the hydrogen could be made from coal char and steam and might quickly become competitive with kerosine on the basis of energy content. In fact, several aircraft makers are now engaged in a project aimed at adapting an existing commercial airliner to use hydrogen, according to Dr. Gregory. If the project bears fruit, a hydrogen-powered DC-10 might be just over the horizon. Dr. Gregory's interest in hydrogen isn't a narrow preoccupation. It is one aspect of a much broader concern with organizing national resources to meet future energy needs. There is little doubt in his mind that the principal elements in the energy business of the future will be nuclear reactors, coal, and water. Just how they ultimately will be used and when substantial utilization will appear are uncertain. However, he is firmly convinced that increasing national dependence on Arab oil would be a mistake. The chief reason for the current energy bind, says Dr. Gregory, is the lack of a national energy policy. Concern has been voiced, studies have been made, and recommendations have appeared from most of the interested groups in the nation, but there is still no policy for solving the problem. Perhaps the reason for the lack of a consistent, operational policy is a reluctance to recognize that our "inexhaustible" fuel resources are becoming exhausted. Two essentials of a valid national energy policy, Dr. Gregory says, are a firm conservation program and a consistent method of allocating resources. Neither is popular but both are required. Dr. Gregory believes that a voluntary conservation program doesn't have much chance of succeeding. The main reason is that few individuals are aware enough of the technicalities of the energy problem to limit themselves. Likewise, expecting groups of people to limit energy consumption voluntarily in a concerted way probably would be frustrated by the necessity to predefine group priorities. The only reasonable alternative, Dr. Gregory believes, is an enforced conserva-
tion program. As undesirable as it may be, enforced conservation of some kind probably will appear before long. An equally challenging problem is the allocation of resources required to develop a new energy industry. The most important resource at the moment is capital. Dr. Gregory believes that there is enough coal, water, and nuclear hardware to provide the energy. Accumulating enough capital to build the energy industry at a rate that will avoid a serious energy dislocation is something else. There simply isn't enough available capital to permit an easy transition to a new energy era. For this reason, Dr. Gregory also believes that allocating capital specifically for solution of the energy problem probably will be the toughest job of all. It will mean withdrawing capital from other areas and that is a matter of grave concern politically. Eventually, nuclear reactors will be the prime energy producer. Dr. Gregory believes that the only place to locate nuclear plants in the future will be offshore in the oceans. No other coolant sources will be sufficient to handle the anticipated heat loads without unacceptable environmental effects. In response to the question of using the Great Lakes as well as the oceans, Dr. Gregory observes that the lakes probably could serve well enough without any great problems technically. However, politics and the protests of environmentalist groups might effectively prevent use of the lakes for a long time, even though there may be no technical reason for doing so. Whatever the problems of building the new energy era, they won't solve themselves. The nation, Dr. Gregory says, must assemble its technical forces and press on. Dr. Gregory doesn't like to procrastinate.
mostly show treatment costs running to dollars per 1000 gallons for fairly complete TOC reductions. For selective removal of color or phenol, however, treatment cost might drop to below $1.00 per gallon.
would lead to neutrino-induced interactions not accompanied by electrical transformations of the neutrinos in 30 to 40% of the interactions. Dr. Rubbia is quick to point out that the current experimental results may be interpreted in several different ways, including the reaction of a new type of neutrino or other particle that the scientists don't fully understand. Nevertheless, he feels that the absence of muons in the same fraction of events predicted by the theory is very strong evidence in favor of the unified theory.
leges requesting their help and may return as needed. They have considerable experience in the areas in which a college may need improvement. They can help chemistry departments to focus on their problems, act as a sounding board for new ideas and approaches, and assist in securing administrative support for new programs. Although the service originally anticipated it would be most useful to smaller departments, it has found that many of its requests have come from schools with strong chemistry departments that are concerned with becomA new type of subatomic interaction ing better. These schools want help in involving neutrinos has been discovimproving their undergraduate reered by high-energy physicists in Eusearch programs, finding jobs for their rope and the U.S. The observations graduates, and recruiting promising lend at least preliminary experimental students for their programs. They also support for a unified theory for electroare concerned about updating curricumagnetism and radioactivity. lums, stretching tight budgets, and imObservations by the two groups were proving safety. described at two European conferences More than 200 schools have been vislast month—the International SympoThe College Chemistry Consultants ited by C3S counselors during the past sium on Electron and Proton InteracService (C3S) has begun its final year four years. Director Malcolm M. Rentions at High Energy, held in Bonn, this fall under the sponsorship of the frew of the University of Idaho, MosWest Germany, and the Second InterAmerican Chemical Society's Division cow, says that most of these schools national Conference in Aix-en-Proof Chemical Education and a grant have responded favorably to the servence on Elementary Particles, in from the National Science Foundation. vice. He is concerned, however, that France. Using different techniques, C3S provides experienced counselors to many of the schools that could benefit each group observed neutrino-induced college chemistry departments con- most from the program are not aware interactions in which the neutrinos are cerned with improving their under- of ^it. With funds available for only one not transformed into electrically graduate programs. more year, he hopes to expand awarecharged particles. Consultants from the service spend ness of the program so that the service All previously known neutrino interseveral days on an initial visit to col- is used to best advantage. actions result in the formation of electrons or muons, both of which have electrical charge. Both research groups say that in 30% of the neutrino interactions observed in their experiments no electrical transformation of the neutrino takes place. This percentage agrees favorably with that predicted by Dr. Steven Weinburg, now at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Dr. Abdus Salam of London University in their unified theory for electromagnetism and radioactivity. ENZYMES · NUCLEOTIDES The European work was carried out by an international collaboration of AFFINITY CHROMATOGRAPHY physicists at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), CARBOHYDRATES · AMINO ACIDS Geneva, Switzerland. The group used a 28-b.e.v. accelerator to generate lowCOENZYMES · ANTIBIOTICS energy neutrinos, which were then reacted in a large bubble chamber LIPIDS · BUFFERS called Gargamelle. Higher-energy neutrinos—50 to 60 b.e.v.—and a liquid scintillation methYou'll find them all in the most in* od of detection were used by the U.S. formative and comprehensive biogroup, which comprised Dr. Carlo chemical reference/catalog avail· Rubbia, Dr. David B. Cline, and Dr. abie. It's the greatly expanded Alfred K. Mann at the National Accel"Biochemical Reference Guide and erator Laboratory, Batavia, 111. The two methods produce very different Price List 103," From P~L Btochembackground considerations, according icals. Call or write for your free to Dr. Mann, but the results of the two copy. Today. groups agree within statistical error. Several years ago, Dr. Weinburg and Dr. Salam proposed that electromagbiochemistry netic forces and weak interactions or radioactivity are different aspects of the same phenomenon. Their theory postulates the existence of neutral K537 NNEST MCKINLEY AVENUE /MILWAUKEE \NIS 53205 weak currents, which, they predicted, Tel: (414) 2 7 1 - 0 6 6 7 ; Cable: PL Biochem @
Science
New subatomic event discovered
Education
College counseling service in final year
NEW CATALOG
PLbiochemicalsJnc.
CIRCLE 10 ON READER SERVICE CARD Oct. 1, 1973 C&EN
27
