Treatment of mixed waste coolant

The primary processes used at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) for treatment of radioactively contaminated machine coolants are industrial waste treatment and in situ carbon adsorption. These two processes simplify approaches to meeting the sanitary sewer discharge limits and subsequent Land Disposal Restriction criteria for hazardous and mixed wastes (40 CFR 268). Several relatively simple technologies are used in industrial water treatment. These technologies are considered Best Demonstrated Available Technologies, or BDAT, by the Environmental Protection Agency. The machine coolants are primarily aqueous and contain water soluble oil consisting of ethanol amine emulsifiers derived from fatty acids, both synthetic and natural. This emulsion carries away metal turnings from a part being machined on a lathe or other machining tool. When the coolant becomes spent, it contains chlorosolvents carried over from other cutting operations as well as a fair amount of tramp oil from machine bearings. This results in a multiphasic aqueous waste that requires treatment of metal and organic contaminants. During treatment, any dissolved metals are oxidized with hydrogen peroxide. Once oxidized, these metals are flocculated with ferric sulfate and precipitated with sodium hydroxide, and then the precipitate is filtered through diatomaceous earth. The emulsion is broken up by acidifying the coolant. Solvents and oils are adsorbed using powdered carbon. This carbon is easily separated from the remaining coolant by vacuum filtration