Pervaporation–air stripping hybrid process for removal of VOCs from groundwater

The removal of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from contaminated groundwater usually involves treating dilute multicomponent solutions. Air stripping removes the more volatile components effectively. Pervaporation can be designed such that it removes the less volatile components effectively. Thus, the two processes are complementary. A pervaporation–air stripping hybrid process is proposed. A general process design procedure for a binary feed solution is outlined. Sensitivity analysis is carried out with respect to several parameters. From the analysis, it is concluded that the retentate should be returned to the same point on the column from where the pervaporation feed is withdrawn. Also, for this configuration, the optimum rate of removal of the liquid from the column, for treatment using pervaporation, is equal to the liquid flow rate in the column. The optimum values of the remaining parameters depend upon economic considerations. A similar approach can be used for multicomponent feed solutions.