Research partnership unveils report on air stripping to remediate MTBE

NWRI announces that the California MTBE Research Partnership has published a new report focusing on contaminated groundwater. Prepared by Malcolm Pirnie, "Removal of MTBE from Drinking Water Using Air Stripping: Case Studies" is an 80-page report assessing design, performance and costs of air stripper treatment systems with data from nine sites operating in the late-'90s, such as Mammoth Lakes, CA, and Bridgeport, CT, and including both packed tower and low profile air strippers...

Dec. 1, 2006

2 min read

• California MTBE Research Partnership publication focuses on cleaning contaminated groundwater.

FOUNTAIN VALLEY, CA, Dec. 1, 2006 -- The National Water Research Institute (NWRI) is pleased to announce that the California MTBE Research Partnership has published a new report on using air stripping technology to remove methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) from contaminated groundwater.

Prepared by Malcolm Pirnie, Inc., "Removal of MTBE from Drinking Water Using Air Stripping: Case Studies" is an 80-page report that assesses the design, performance, and costs of air stripper treatment systems using data from nine case study sites operating in the late 1990s. The case study sites range from Mammoth Lakes, California, to Bridgeport, Connecticut, and include both packed tower and low profile air strippers.

In addition, two models were evaluated for accuracy in predicting the cost and performance of packed tower and low profile air strippers: the Aeration System Analysis Program (ASAPTM) Packed Tower Model and the North East Environmental Products (NEEP) ShallowTray Modeler software.

The California MTBE Research Partnership was established in 1997 to direct a research program to investigate treatment technologies for MTBE, a gasoline additive that has contaminated surface and ground water supplies throughout nation. It is a cooperative program formed by the Association of California Water Agencies, Oxygenated Fuels Association, Western States Petroleum Association, and NWRI.

Removal of MTBE from Drinking Water Using Air Stripping: Case Studies is one of eight reports published by the Partnership. All the reports are available for download on NWRI's website at www.nwri-usa.org/MTBE

The National Water Research Institute (www.nwri-usa.org) was founded in 1991 by a group of Southern California water agencies in partnership with the Joan Irvine Smith and Athalie R. Clarke Foundation to promote the protection, maintenance, and restoration of water supplies and to protect the freshwater and marine environments through the development of cooperative research work. NWRI's member agencies include Inland Empire Utilities Agency, Irvine Ranch Water District, Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, Orange County Sanitation District, Orange County Water District, and West Basin Municipal Water District.

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