Removal of CCA from treated wood by oxalic acid extraction, steam explosion, and bacterial fermentation

Abstract

Most preservative-treated wood produced and consumed in the United States is treated with toxic inorganic compounds containing copper, chromium, and arsenic. Because chromated copper arsenate (CCA) is fixed to the wood, CCA-treated wood has not been considered toxic or hazardous and it is currently disposed of in approved landfills. Growing public concern about environmental contamination from treated wood combined with the removal of greater quantities of CCA-treated wood from service have presented a disposal challenge for this fiber source. In this study, CCA-treated wood was processed by acid extraction, steam explosion, and bacterial fermentation and evaluated for removal of copper, chromium, and arsenic. Copper was the easiest to remove by these treatments and chromium the most resistant to removal. Exposing CCA-treated wood to steady-state bacterial growth by continuous culture with Bacillus licheniformis CC01 did not enhance removal of CCA components compared to standard mixed culture when acid extraction preceded bacterial fermentation. Nor did steam explosion, alone or in conjunction with acid extraction and bacterial fermentation, enhance removal of CCA components; the chromium and arsenic components resisted removal. Grinding CCA-treated wood chips into 20-mesh sawdust provided greater access to and removal of CCA components by all processes. However, grinding the chips was unnecessary if they were treated with acid prior to bacterial fermentation. Extraction with oxalic acid as a precursor to bacterial fermentation with B. licheniformis CC01 removed 90% copper (CuO), 80% chromium (CrO3), and 100% arsenic (As2O5) from treated chips. The combination of acid extraction and bacterial fermentation removed 80-100% of these metals from CCA-treated wood.