System for perchlorate in groundwater demonstrated

A demonstration system for the degradation of perchlorate, which minimises production of a secondary waste system such as that from ion‑exchange, has been installed at Aerojet General Corporation’s site near Rancho Cordova in California, USA.

Microvi Biotechnologies, in partnership with Aquatech International, has been awarded a contract for the demonstration system, which is designed to use Microvi’s MB-P™ technology to treat 175,000 GPD (660 m³/d) of groundwater containing perchlorate, a component of solid rocket fuel.

The MB-P technology consists of a single‑pass single‑step process that degrades perchlorate in the feed water into harmless oxygen and chloride ions with no build‑up of intermediates.

The contract for the demonstration system was awarded after the successful completion of a pilot conducted by Microvi and Aerojet at the site in 2012. That proved that dissolved perchlorate could be degraded using Microvi’s technology and that it has the potential to significantly reduce operating costs by retrofitting Aerojet’s existing biological fluidized-bed reactor system.