Phenol (Environmental Engineering) An aromatic benzene ring with a hydroxyl substituted for one hydrogen.
Phenyl- (Environmental Engineering) A benzene ring named as a constituent group, C6H5-.
Photoautotrophic (Environmental Engineering) Organisms which utilize inorganic carbon dioxide for protoplasm synthesis and light for an energy source. See autotrophic and chemoautotrophic.
Photochemical pollutants (Environmental Engineering) Chemicals which react photochemically (in the presence of sunlight) to destroy ozone in the stratosphere.
Reactive waste (Environmental Engineering) A waste which; 1) reacts violently with water, 2) forms potentially explosive mixtures with water, 3) is normally unstable, 4) contains cyanide or sulfide in sufficient quantity to evolve toxic fumes at high or low pH, 5) is capable of exploding if heated under pressure, or 6) is an explosive compound listed in Department of Transportation (DoT) regulations. One of EPA's four hazardous waste properties.
Refuse derived fuel (RDF) (Environmental Engineering) A fuel derived from the combustible portion of municipal solid waste. The fuel is often processed into small briquettes, similar in size to charcoal.
Respiration (Environmental Engineering) Energy production in which oxygen is the terminal electron acceptor, i.e. oxidation to produce energy where oxygen is the oxidizing agent. See fermentation.
Site remediation (Environmental Engineering) The process of cleaning up a hazardous waste disposal site that has either been abandoned or that those responsible either refuse to cleanup or are financially unable to cleanup.
Sterilization (Environmental Engineering) The destruction or inactivation of all microorganisms. See Disinfection.
Toxicity (Environmental Engineering) A U.S. EPA hazardous waste characteristic defined with a rigorous test procedure, the TCLP (for Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure). In the procedure, a waste is extracted for 24 hours with an acetic acid solution. The acid extract is then analyzed for the presence of any of the contaminants listed in the procedure.
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