Hodgdon Powder Company manufactures specialty gunpowder at its
Pyrodex Plant near Herington, Kansas. Gunpowder production was
jeopardized by the inability to dispose of wastewater containing
high levels of perchlorate and nitrate. A process was needed to
reduce perchlorate in the wastewater to less than 100
parts-per-billion (ppb) to comply with the Kansas Department of
Health and Environment (KDHE) guidelines.
Demonstrate the feasibility of treating wastewater from gunpowder
manufacture using the patented ARA biodegradation process
Design, engineer, install, and startup a system capable of treating
up to 5000 gallons per day of wastewater containing:
-
Up to 5000 mg/L
perchlorate
-
Up to 20,000 mg/L
nitrate
-
High suspended and
dissolved solids
The
treatment system should be low-cost, robust, and simple to operate
Results and Benefits
Eight months after treatability tests were initiated, the
full-scale treatment system was inoculated and began operation.
The system has successfully treated the highly-contaminated
wastewater at the Pyrodex Plant since May 2003, which enabled
uninterrupted gunpowder production and expansion of
manufacturing operations. Treatment cost is approximately $2
per kilogram of perchlorate destroyed and the
treated water
can now be safely discharged to a local municipal wastewater
treatment plant. In 2005, the Kansas Water Environment
Association (KWEA) recognized the Pyrodex wastewater treatment
plant for Operating Excellence in the category of Industrial
Wastewater Pretreatment.
