HiPOx

Benefits Technology Applications Product Specs Tech Papers

HiPOx: OLD CHEMISTRY, NEW TECHNOLOGY

Applied has designed and built a patented treatment device – the HiPOx system – that finally harnesses powerful oxidation chemistry to treat contaminated water at costs that are competitive with conventional technologies, such as carbon adsorption. Moreover, HiPOx technology is far less expensive than traditional treatment technologies for some recalcitrant contaminants. And unlike other AOP systems, HiPOx minimizes the formation of byproducts such as bromate, making it ideal for drinking water applications in addition to remediation, wastewater and process water clean-up.

HiPOx, which stands for high-pressure oxidation, is based on well-known advanced oxidation chemistry. Chemical engineers and scientists have understood this basic chemical process for some time. Early efforts to harness this chemistry have produced systems that work, but at costs that are generally uncompetitive with other technologies.

Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and ozone (O3), two strong oxidizing agents, are mixed together in a reaction chamber to form an even stronger, short-lived oxidizing agent, the hydroxyl radical (·OH). When hydroxyl radicals are formed in the presence of organic contaminants, contaminants are quickly oxidized to harmless materials such as carbon dioxide and water.

What’s more, HiPOx can be operated in three different oxidation modes:  as an advanced oxidation process (just described), as a compact, extremely efficient ozone contactor, or alternating between these two modes within the same plugflow reactor.  Its flexibility enables HiPOx to meet multiple treatment objectives including disinfection, odor/taste/color removal, VOC and microcontaminant destruction, and more.

COMMON CONTAMINANTS DESTROYED BY HiPOx

HiPOx is an ideal treatment solution for many common water contaminants. A partial list of contaminants destroyed includes:

Industrial Solvents & Breakdown Products:

  • 1,4 Dioxane (solvent stabilizer)
  • Trichloroethylene (TCE)
  • Perchloroethylene (PCE)
  • 1,2 Dichloroethene (1,2 DCE)
  • 1,1 Dichloroethene (1,1 DCE)
  • Vinyl Chloride
  • Tetrahydrofuran (solvent stabilizer)

Petroleum Compounds:

  • Methyl tert-butyl alcohol (MTBE)
  • Tert-butyl alcohol (TBA)
  • Benzene
  • Ethylbenzene
  • Toluene
  • Xylene
  • Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons, as gasoline (TPH-g)
  • Tert-amyl methyl ether (TAME)
  • Diisopropyl ether (DIPE)
  • Poly aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH)
  • Trimethylbenzenes

Explosives:

  • Hexahydro 1,3,5 trinitro 1,3,5 triazine (RDX)
  • Octahydro 1,3,5,7 tetranitro 1,3,5,7 tetrazocine (HMX)
  • 1,3,5 Trinitrotoluene (1,3,5 TNT)
  • 2,4,6 Trinitrotoluene (2,4,6 TNT)
  • 2,4 Dinitrotoluene (2,4 DNT)

Pesticides:

  • Atrazine
  • Dibromochloropropane (DBCP)
  • Chlordane
  • Meta-parathion
  • 1,2,3 Trichloropropane (TCP)
  • Triethyl phosphate
  • Tetraphenyl phosphonium

Other contaminants:

  • Chlorobenzene
  • Dichlorobenzene
  • Nitrobenzene
  • P-Chlorobenzene sulfonic acid (p-CBSA)
  • Nitrosodimethylamine(NDMA)
  • Hydrazine
  • Natpthalene
  • Phenol
  • Geosmin (odor)
  • Hydrogen sulfide (odor)
  • 2 Methylisoborneol (MIB) (odor)

For a more extensive list of contaminants and their responsiveness to the HiPOx technology, click here.

AN INNOVATIVE SOLUTION FOR RECALCITRANT COMPOUNDS (TBA, 1,4 Dioxane)

While HiPOx is quite effective in destroying common petroleum and solvent based contaminants to non-detectable levels, it outperforms the competition destructing hard-to-treat recalcitrant chemicals such as tert butyl alcohol (TBA) and 1,4 dioxane, both of which are considered emerging contaminants of concern by regulatory officials.

Tert-butyl alcohol (TBA) is a decomposition product of the fuel oxygenate MTBE which was added to gasoline for several years to make it burn cleaner. TBA has become a major environmental contaminant as a result of gasoline leaks from thousands of underground storage tanks.

TBA is highly soluble with a low Henry’s Law constant. Consequently, air stripping will not remove TBA from the water stream. TBA also has a low organic partitioning coefficient rendering carbon adsorption economically ineffective. Existing fuel clean-up sites, that are later required to remove TBA, may find their carbon consumption rate increase by a factor of 4 or more.

1,4 Dioxane is a solvent stabilizer added to various industrial solvents to increase their useful life. It is classified as a Class II-B probable human carcinogen. Like TBA, 1,4 dioxane has a low Henry’s Law constant and a low organic partitioning coefficient. 1,4 dioxane will pass through an air stripper and cause rapid carbon breakthrough, thus tremendously driving up conventional treatment costs.

HiPOx is extremely effective in removing these hard-to-treat recalcitrant chemicals to non-detectable levels from contaminated water streams. In some instances the most cost-effective solution employs HiPOx as a stand-alone device to remove all the contaminants in an impacted water stream. In other cases the most economic solution will be to use HiPOx in conjunction with one or more conventional technologies. In any case, Applied can help you design a total treatment train that is right for your situation at costs below conventional technology.

A HIGHLY SCALABLE TECHNOLOGY WITH BENEFITS

Whether it’s a drinking water supply well operating at 1,000 gpm or a service station clean-up operating at 10 gpm, and whether your dealing with contaminant concentrations at hundreds of parts per million or the low parts per billion range, Applied can deliver a HiPOx unit to suit your needs.

As you’ll see under the HiPOx "Features & Benefits" page, the value of this technology extends well beyond meeting numeric treatment goals. Elimination of offsite waste disposal, avoidance of discharge violations, and high reliability are just a few of the added benefits you’ll capture with a HiPOx installation.

Click Here for Applied's HiPOx brochure.