title: Tetrachloroethene recovery and hazard reduction of spent powders from dry cleaning process.
abstract: Dry cleaning facilities using perchloroethylene produce a solid waste consisting of spent filtering powders with a high content of residual perchloroethylene, together with dyes and non-volatile residues. Untreated spent powders, classified as hazardous waste, cannot be disposed in landfill and incineration represents the only viable alternative. In this study, together with a full characterisation of the waste, the removal and recovery of the residual perchloroethylene by means of different heat treatments was investigated. In particular, tests of distillation and stripping with air and steam were carried out, evaluating the effectiveness of the treatments by quantifying the residual perchloroethylene in the samples treated. The results obtained show that the spent filtering powders contained about 25% wt. of perchloroethylene and that the maximum perchloroethylene recovery was obtained by steam stripping; approximately 98% after only 50 minutes. However, this treatment accounted for the production of a liquid mixture containing perchloroethylene and of a solid waste that required a further washing with boiling water to decrease the residual organic content below the eligibility criteria for landfill disposal.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering Materials and Environment, University of Rome "La Sapienza", Roma, Italy elisabetta.petrucci@uniroma1.it.
authors.forename: Elisabetta
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Petrucci
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering Materials and Environment, University of Rome "La Sapienza", Roma, Italy.
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Scarsella
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering Materials and Environment, University of Rome "La Sapienza", Roma, Italy.
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: De Filippis
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering Materials and Environment, University of Rome "La Sapienza", Roma, Italy.
authors.forename: Luca
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Di Palma
mesh_terms: D057168:Distillation; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000032:analysis; D006256:Hazardous Waste / Q000032:analysis*; D017745:Incineration; D011208:Powders / Q000737:chemistry*; D012997:Solvents / Q000032:analysis; D013750:Tetrachloroethylene / Q000032:analysis*; D018505:Waste Management / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D006256:Hazardous Waste; D011208:Powders; D012997:Solvents; D013750:Tetrachloroethylene
keywords: Tetrachloroethene; dry cleaning; hazard reduction; perchloroethylene; solvent recovery; spent filtering powders; thermal treatments