Measurements and Models for Hazardous chemical and Mixed Wastes

Mixed solvent aqueous waste of various chemical compositions constitutes a significant fraction of the total waste produced by industry in the United States. Not only does the chemical process industry create large quantities of aqueous waste, but the majority of the waste inventory at the DOE sites previously used for nuclear weapons production is mixed solvent aqueous waste. In addition, large quantities of waste are expected to be generated in the clean-up of those sites. In order to effectively treat, safely handle, and properly dispose of these wastes, accurate and comprehensive knowledge of basic thermophysical properties is essential. The goal of this work is to develop a phase equilibrium model for mixed solvent aqueous solutions containing salts. An equation of state was sought for these mixtures that (a) would require a minimum of adjustable parameters and (b) could be obtained from a available data or data that were easily measured. A model was developed to predict vapor composition and pressure given the liquid composition and temperature. It is based on the Peng-Robinson equation of state, adapted to include non-volatile and salt components. The model itself is capable of predicting the vapor-liquid equilibria of a wide variety of systems composed of water, organic solvents, salts, nonvolatile solutes, and acids or bases. The representative system o water + acetone + 2-propanol + NaNo3 was selected to test and verify the model. Vapor-liquid equilibrium and phase density measurements were performed for this system and its constituent binaries.