MyCelx Filters Remove PCB to Parts per Billion (PPB) Levels

The Background

A New England environmental firm works for a utility company in Massachusetts.They operate a treatment system for manhole contact water that is contaminated with oil and grease, suspended solids, gasoline/fuels and PCBs. Periodically the water needs to be pumped our of the manholes so inspections and maintenance can be conducted. The goal of the system is to treat the contaminants so the water can be discharged to a POTW collection system. The discharge limit is 2 ppb for PCBs. About 500 to 1000 gallons of contact water are processed each month.

The Problem

An environmental firm working for a utility company in Massachusetts operate a MyCelx treatment system for manhole contact water that is contaminated with oil and grease, suspended solids, gasoline/fuels and PCBs. Periodically the water needs to be pumped our of the manholes so inspections and maintenance can be conducted. The goal of the system is to treat the contaminants so the water can be discharged to a POTW collection system. The discharge limit is 2 ppb for PCBs. About 500 to 1000 gallons of contact water are processed each month.

The Solution

The environmental firm designed a system that includes an oil/water separator followed by three bag filters in series (25-micron, 10-micron and 1-micron), a MyCelx MX-4 with four MYCELX PCB cartridges and 1000 lb carbon vessel.
The system has been in operation since October 2002. The system is set up in such a way that the MyCelx MX-4 can be by-passed if no PCBs are present. In this configuration the carbon vessel is treating the gasoline/fuel components, while the capacity of the MyCelx cartridges is held in reserve to capture PCBs.

The Results

The system has never failed to meet the discharge limit of 2 ppb for PCBs. The detection limit is 0.118 ppb. In one sampling event the influent to the MX-4 was 1000 ppb. The effluent was 1 ppb. That is a 99.9% single pass efficiency for the four MyCelx PCB cartridges.