Advanced oxidation process treatment of mixed waste

The challenge in treating mixed wastes, i.e., wastes containing both hazardous organics as well as radionuclides, is to treat the hazardous portion and separate the radionuclides for disposal without creating other secondary waste products.An advanced oxidation process (AOP) utilizing hydrogen peroxide and ultraviolet light is particularly well-suited to this task. With the application of this technology, the organic contaminants are destroyed onsite, leaving water and radionuclides, that can be reused or disposed of as appropriate. Four case histories using AOPs are very briefly outlined in this paper