v>EPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
SUPERFUND INNOVATIVE
TECHNOLOGY EVALUATION
Draft Demonstration Bulletin
Minergy Glass Furnace Technology
Minergy Corporation
Technology Description: The Glass Furnace Technology
(GFT) was developed by Minergy Corporation (Minergy),
of Waukesha, Wisconsin. Minergy originally developed
the technology to incinerate paper mill sludge into glass
aggregate that could provide a beneficial reuse. Minergy
modified the GFT to melt and treat river sediment
containing polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). The
technology was evaluated during a U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency Superfund Innovative Technology
Evaluation (SITE) Program demonstration at the Minergy
facility in Winneconne, Wisconsin, in August 2001. The
SITE program evaluated the technology's ability to treat
sediment containing PCBs and metals. Because the GFT
melter requires the river sediment to be greater than 90
percent solids prior to loading into the melter, the SITE
program also evaluated a bench-scale dryer technology
as a secondary activity. The sediment for this evaluation
was dredged from the Lower Fox River, dewatered, and
filter pressed. The PCB concentration of sediment fed
into the GFT unit ranged up to 36 parts per million (ppm)
by volume.
Dried sediment is fed into the GFT hopper above the
feeder mechanism. The feeder conveys the sediment
continuously into the main section of the melter. At the
furnace temperature of 2,900E Fahrenheit, the sediment's
inorganic portion does not burn, but melts, forming
molten glass.The molten glass flows through the furnace
into the forehearth, where the molten glass stabilizes.
glass then flows through an opening at the end of the
forehearth and drops into a' water-quenching tank.
Exhaust gases flow from the furnace through a flue.
For the demonstration, air sampling equipment
extracted glass furnace emissions from this flue for
laboratory analyses.
Minergy claims that the GFT process offers advantages
over incineration and other vitrification technologies. An
incinerator would require large quantities of fuel for
treatment of low-organic-content sediments. In addition,
typical waste incineration generates large amounts of
ash which require landfilling. Unlike other vitrification
technologies, GFT is designed to melt materials with no
Drtsd PCB-conlaminafed Feeder conveys the sediment
sediment placed in hopper continuously Ms the mam
section of It® waiter
Rue
!f?orehearth'
Meltermah section
Feeder mechanism
fuel value. Other vitrification systemstypically require
very high electric consumption. GFT is based on
commercial glass making technology which operates in
a more energy efficient manner.The GFT uses oxy-fuel
burners, combining natural gas and purified oxygen to
create intense flames above the glass pool.
Waste Applicability: Minergy claims that the GFT process
is capable of treating PCB-contaminated sediment
containing inorganic contaminants (including mercury).
Contaminated sediment is a relatively common problem
throughout the Great Lakes Basin, with sediment
removal generally being the most preferred remediation
method. Currently, the public, particularly on a local
scale, is reluctant to accept placing PCB- and mercury-
contaminated sediments in landfills.The public has also
expressed a desire to further explore remediation
technologies that reduce the contaminant exposure
pathway. The GFT potentially can help address the
problem of landfilling contaminated dredge materials.
Providing environmentally acceptable and cost-effective
disposal of contaminated sediment would allow for more
publically acceptable and effective cleanups.
Demonstration Approach: The technology was evaluated
during two sampling events: (1) an event associated with
-------
the bench-scale dryer, conducted January 24 to 28,2001;
and (2) an event associated with the melter, conducted
August 14 to 17, 2001.The bench-scale dryer evaluation
involved sampling and analysis of sediments prior to
and after drying, as well as sampling and analysis of
effluent gas and condensate water generated in the
drying process.The melter evaluation involved sampling
and analysis of sediment prior to melting, glass
aggregate product generated, quench water, and furnace
exhaust. System operating conditions were monitored
during both events.
The primary objectives of the SITE demonstration were:
• To determine the.treatment efficiency (TE) of
PCBs in dredged-and-dewatered river sediment
when processed in the Minergy GFT.
• To determine whether the GFT glass aggregate
product meets the criteria for beneficial reuse under
relevant federal and state regulations.
In addition, the following secondary objectives were
intended to provide additional information that will be
useful in evaluating the technology.
* Determine the unit cost of operating the GFT on
dredged-and-dewatered river sediment.
• Quantify the organic and inorganic contaminant
losses resulting from the drying process.
• Characterize organic and inorganic constituents in
all GFT process input and output streams.
Demonstration Results: The preliminary results of the
demonstration are summarized in the table.The bench-
scale dryer was evaluated by sampling and analyzing
composite samples of sediment before and after the
drying process. This evaluation was designed to
determine how much, if any, contaminants were lost due
to the drying process. Concentrations of PCBs and
mercury going into the dryer averaged 1.49 and 0.92
ppm, respectively. Post-drying PCS and mercury
concentrations averaged 1.34 and 0.87 ppm, respectively.
During the demonstration, the glass furnace processed
about 200 pounds of dried sediment per hour for 122
consecutive hours, processing a total of 25,800 pounds
of dried sediment, generating about 16,200 pounds of
glass aggregate product. The PCS and mercury
concentrations of sediment fed into the system during
the evaluation averaged 28.1 ppm and 0.72 ppm,
respectively. The glass aggregate produced averaged
<0.653 ppm PCBs and <0.25 ppm mercury.
Key findings from the demonstration, including
complete analytical results, operating conditions, and a
cost analysis, will be published in aTechnology CapsuJe
and an Innovative Technology Evaluation Report.
Preliminary Contaminant Removal Efficiencies
Sampling Average Inlet Average
Event Compound Concentration CRE
- (ppm) -(%)
Bench-
scale
Dryer
Melter
PCBs
Mercury
PCBs
Mercury
1.49*
0.92
28.1
0.72
10.1
4.5
99.9
65
- Average concentration based on 20 congeners
For Further Information:
Marta K. Richards, SITE Project Manager
EPA Office of Research and Development
National Risk Management Research Laboratory
26 West Martin Luther King Drive
Cincinnati, Ohio 45268
Telephone: (513) 569-7692
Fax: (513) 569-7676
E-mail: richards.marta@epa.gov
sajj suuquo passaoojd
jo umujtutuj E sireiuoo )Eiu jaded
uo H"l posBq-aiqeiBf&A miM paiuu
2003
009/30-HIAI/Of9/Vcl3
OOE$
asp
ssaujsng
892217 HO 'l
Ajojejoqe-] qo
;uaaia6eue|/\| >|S|y
se-o 'ON
Vd3
aivd said v aovisod
aaiuosayd
•jeujoo puEi|-ija| jeddn
aqi u| ssejppB em 01 iun;sj pue 'JSAOO siq; Adoo jo 'ipejep
: Q3B3H X03HO sjjodai assm 9A|908J 01 U.SJM iou op noA j|
jaddn am m ssajppe ai|i oj u.miej pus 'Adoo jo goBiap
'|aqE| MO|eq am uo saSuEip Ajessaoau HE a>(EUj assay
------- |