A variety of organic dyes for use in smoke munitions are packaged in a production facility at Pine Bluff arsenal, Pine Bluff, Arkansas. To remove the dyes from the production area wastewater, the central waste treatment facility adds powdered carbon (PAC), which settles out as a sludge (after polymer treatment) in two lagoons. The constant addition of PAC and the dredging of the lagoons every five years present an economic and environmental problem for the arsenal. As an alternative to the present system, a pilot-scale system receives untreated water from the production area and is being monitored for the removal of TOC, selected metals and toxicity under different flow conditions.
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