Advanced oxidation processes for destruction and enhanced biodegradability of 1,4-dioxane

1,4-Dioxane is a by-product formed during esterification of polyester. 1,4-Dioxane has been shown to be carcinogenic to animals and is a suspected carcinogen to humans. Regulatory trends indicate that 1,4-dioxane will become regulated under the Hazardous Waste Identification Rule (HWIR), the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), and the Clean Water Act (CWA). Discharge limitations of 1,4-dioxane are anticipated to be set between 0.12 mg/L to 0.03 mg/L under these regulations. Until recently, effective removal of 1,4-dioxane was considered neither biologically nor chemically possible. Current results prove that 1,4-dioxane can be oxidized biologically and with advanced oxidation procedures. Combinations of these techniques yield different effluent 1,4-dioxane concentrations. This paper will examine two issues. First, the methods used to chemically and biologically oxidize 1,4-dioxane will be reported. Second, this paper evaluates four combination techniques capable of meeting future 1,4-dioxane discharge limits with polyester wastewater. The associated costs, equipment configurations, and technical challenges are included.