*** 9801514 Kalumuck This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project is aimed at the development of an efficient cost effective technology for treatment of water polluted with organic waste compounds by complete oxidation. Such materials pose a major environmental health hazard at numerous industrial sites and laboratory facilities threatening air pollution and ground water contamination. However, complete oxidation by conventional means entails costly chemical treatment and often leads to carcinogenic end products. The proposed research applies hydrodynamic cavitation to induce oxidation in the bulk solution by the use of cavitating liquid jets to trigger wide spread cavitation. The Phase I research demonstrated the feasibility of this approach by producing energy efficiencies of oxidation two orders of magnitude larger than those obtained with ultrasonic means. Phase II will seek to obtain a detailed mechanistic understanding of the factors controlling this process, extend its application to different classes of compounds, optimize cavitation and operating conditions, establish scaling laws, and address practical engineering issues relevant to commercialization. A detailed study of the cavitation characteristics and their influence on the oxidation of different classes of compounds and their byproducts will be conducted. The Technology will provide a reliable cost effective means for waste handling and elimination of a broad range of toxic organic compounds leading to safe end products. It will be of use to industries as well as government facilities in disposing of the huge quantities of toxic substances continually being produced and previously accumulated. ***
