UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
NATIONAL RISK MANAGEMENT RESEARCH LABORATORY
CINCINNATI, OH 45268
OFFICE OF
RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
May 2000
Dear SITE Program Technology Profiles Document Recipient:
This summary is an addendum to the Superfund Innovative Technology Evaluation Program:
Technology Profiles Tenth Edition, Volume 1 Demonstration Program document. The EPA
document number and publication date are EPA/540/R-99/500a, February 1999, respectively.
This information should be added to the document as pages 152a and 152b.
Sincerely yours,
Annette M. Gatchett
Associate Director for Technology
Land Remediation Pollution Control Division
Recycled/Recyclable • Printed with Vegetable OH Based Inks on 100% Recycled Paper (40% Postconsumer)
-------
SOLUCORP INDUSTRIES
(Molecular Bonding System)
TECHNOLOGY DESCRIPTION:
The Molecular Bonding System (MBS) is a
process developed for the stabilization of a
variety of media, such as soil, sludge, slag,
and ash, that is contaminated with heavy
metals. The process employs a proprietary
mixture of nonhazardous chemicals to
convert the heavy metal contaminants from
their existing reactive and leachable forms
(usually oxides) into insoluble, stable,
nonhazardous, metallic-sulfide compounds
that will achieve toxicity characteristic
leaching procedure (TCLP) levels far below
regulatory limits. The MBS process
maintains the pH levels in the media within
the range where the insolubility of the heavy
metal sulfides is assured. The system also
provides buffer capacity to ensure that the
pH is not significantly altered by the
addition of acids or caustics to the media.
As depicted in the diagram below, the MBS
treatment process is completely mobile and
easily transportable (to allow for on-site
treatment). Waste material is screened and
crushed as required to reduce particle sizes
to an average 1-inch diameter (particle size
reduction increases surface area, which
maximizes contact with the reagents). The
waste media is then mixed with powdered
reagents in a closed-hopper pug mill (the
reagent mixture is established through treat
ability studies for the site-specific
conditions). Water is then added to catalyze
the reaction and to ensure homogeneous
mixing. There is no curing time and the
resulting increase in volume is between 2 to
3 percent. The treated media is then
conveyed to a stockpile where it can be
either returned to the original site or
disposed in a landfill as cover, fill, or
contour material.
MBS can also be applied with traditional in
situ mixing techniques such as tillers,
eliminating the need for excavating and
preparing the soil.
The MBS process can also be used to
stabilize waste "in line" during the
manufacturing process, preventing the waste
from being classified as hazardous.
Commercial applications on slag from a
secondary smelter are underway.
WASTE APPLICABILITY:
The MBS process stabilizes heavy metals in
soil, sludges, baghouse dust, ash, slag, and
sediment. Heavy metals rendered inert by
the process include arsenic, cadmium,
chromium, copper, lead, mercury, nickel,
silver, and zinc. The process can
simultaneously stabilize multiple heavy
metal contaminants. The presence of
organics does not affect treatment by MBS.
Process Flow Diagram of the Molecular Bonding System
152a
-------
STATUS:
This technology was accepted into the SITE
Demonstration Program in early 1995. A
SITE demonstration was conducted at the
Midvale Slag Superfund Site in Midvale,
Utah in 1997. Three waste streams
contaminated with As, Cd, and Pb were
treated. Approximately 500 tons of each
waste stream was treated. The treated
wastes and souls passed EPA's Multiple
Extraction Procedure. The MBS process has
undergone extensive bench-scale and pilot-
scale testing prior to its successful full-scale
commercialization. The same reductions in
the TCLP levels of hazardous contaminants
achieved in the laboratory were achieved at
five manufacturing site in five different
states.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:
EPA PROJECT MANAGER:
Thomas Holdsworth
U.S. EPA
National Risk Management Research
Laboratory
26 W. Martin Luther King Drive
Cincinnati, OH 45268
513-569-7675
Fax: 513-569-7676
E-Mail:
Holdworth.Thonias@epaniail.epa.gov
TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPER
CONTACT:
Noel Spindler
SOLUCORP Industries
250 West Nyack Road
WestNyack,NY 10994
914-623-2333
Fax: 914-623-4987
152b
-------
United States
Environmental Protection Agency
Center for
Environmental Research Information
Cincinnati, OH 45268
Please make all necessary changes on the below label,
detach or copy, and return to the address In the upper
left-hand comer.
If you do not wish to receive these reports CHECK HERED ;
detach, or copy this cover, and return to the address in the
upper left-hand comer.
PRESORTED STANDARC
POSTAGE & FEES PAID
EPA
PERMIT No. G-35
Official Business
Penalty for Private Use
$300
EPA/S40/R-99/500a ?
------- |