United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Office of
Research and Development
Washington DC 20460
EPA/600/M-91/026
May 1991
Vol.5
vvEPA ORD ENGINEERING
HIGHLIGHTS
A bi-monthly compilation of EPA's Office of Research and Development engineering research activities
and results and related research activities in pollution prevention and mitigation. To discuss any of these
activities, contact the ORD lead person listed below. For general information, contact Darlene Williams of
the Office of Technology Transfer and Regulatory Support, Phone : FTS 382-7891.
EPA's Incineration Research Facility Receives PCB Permit
A recent Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Research
and Development Permit to EPA's Incineration Research
Facility (ERF) in Jefferson, AR, allows the IRF to conduct
research and development studies on the disposal of PCBs by
thermal destruction using their Rotary Kiln Incineration
System. The permit which was issued by EPA's Office of
Toxic Substances (OTS) and became effective on March 4,
1991 allows the IRF to conduct studies on both solid and
liquid PCB-contaminated material. The approval is effective
for one year, renewable annually, and subject to detailed
review every three years. Coupled with the RCRA permit
already in effect, this TSCA permit will allow the IRF to
accommodate testing of wastes from any CERCLA site. The
first use of the permit will be for treatability testing of
PCB-contaminated sludge from the New Bedford Harbor site
in Boston, MA. (Gregory J. Carroll, RREL, FTS 684-7948)
Soil Washing Treatability Studies Guidance Document
A RREL guidance document on soil washing treatability
studies has been completed. The document evaluates
CERCLA site remediation using soil washing technologies.
This guidance document, recently updated and edited,
concentrates on remedy screening and selection procedures for
providing guidance on appropriate studies, their cost, duration
and output. The document describes the treatability guidance
process rather than detailed laboratory procedures. The
document is expected to becoome available by late Summer
1991. (Michael Borst, RREL, FTS 340-6631).
Evaluation of Antifreeze Recycling Technologies
Tests were recently conducted at the NJ Department of
Transportation (DOT) vehicle maintenance and repair facility
in Ewing, NJ, on technologies that have potential for recycling
and reuse of antifreeze in automobiles. This research evaluates
the effectiveness of the antifreeze recycling technologies (both
filtration and distillation types) in generating a coolant that
meets the automotive industry's performance standards, the
waste reduction potential, and the cost of recycling versus the
cost of current practice. This study is being conducted in
cooperation with the State of NJ and the NJ DOT. Disposal
of used antifreeze has become a costly and a serious national
problem for automotive repair facilities and fleet operators
since state and local governments have established strict
regulatory requirements concerning disposal procedures. A
final report summarizing the evaluation of these antifreeze
recycling technologies will be completed in September 1991.
(Paul M. Randall, RREL, 684-7673)
Flame Reactor Tests
Shakedown tests of the Horsehead Resource Development,
Inc. (HRD) flame reactor system were conducted in Monaca,
PA, using a 5-ton sample of lead-contaminated industrial
waste shipped from a Superfund removal site in Atlanta, GA.
The waste sample was successfully dried and hammer-milled
at the HRD's plant and then processed through the flame
reactor system at a nominal 1.5 ton/hr rate without difficulty.
Samples of the system products, solidified bottom slag and
fumed metal oxides from the baghouse, are undergoing tests
to verify ash Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure and
metal oxide yield characteristics, etc. A six-day full
demonstration performance test which was conducted in
March 1991 included detailed system performance
assessments. (Donald Oberacker, RREL, FTS 684-7510)
EPA's Incineration Facility Supports Region III
RREL's Incineration Research Facility (IRF) provides
Regional offices with quick, convenient, and cost-effective
performance data on the use of incineration as a remedial
option. Recently, the facility was used to support Region III
by evaluating incineration as a treatment option for
contaminated soils at the Drake Chemical Superfund site and
to determine the destruction removal efficiency of the
organics and the fate of the metals as the soil was incinerated.
The incineration of the soil was completed with a full battery
of samples collected for every effluent stream during every
test The results will help Region III determine if incineration
is a disposal option, and will provide information on the
incineration conditions, the air pollution control equipment,
and the disposal requirements for the ash. (Robert C.
Thurnau, RREL, FTS 684-7692)
AIR
Estimating Landfill Air Emissions
In accordance with the recently proposed Clean Air Act
regulations that require certain landfills to collect and control
landfill gas, AEERL, in coordination with the Office of Air
Quality Planning and Standards (OAQPS), has developed a
new and innovative computer software package and User's
Manual. The software, which utilizes site-specific
Printed on Recycled Paper
-------
characteristics and field test data, provides estimates for
greenhouse gases as well as individual toxic constituents and
non-methane hydrocarbons compounds. The computer
software and User's Manual will be of help to EPA Regional
offices, State and local regulatory agencies, and landfill
owner/operators responding to the proposed landfill air
regulations. Over 500 requests have been received for this
software and manual since it became available in January.
(Susan Thorneloe, AEERL, FTS 629-2709).
Destruction of Chlorinated Organic Compounds
AEERL, the Department of Defense, and the University of
Akron have developed a new Zeolite/transition metal oxide
(TMO) catalysts for the destruction of chlorinated organic
compounds. Among the many environmentally significant uses
of these catalysts is the removal of chlorinated organic
compounds from the air streams used to strip these compounds
from contaminated ground water. The catalyst systems and
techniques being developed by this research also may be
applied to the destruction of the freon and other halogenated
chemical emissions that contribute to stratospheric ozone
depletion and global warming. Three catalyst companies are
expected to sign secrecy agreements to test the catalysts.
(Chester Vogel, AEERL, FTS 629-2827)
Prototype Pulse Combustor Incinerator Project
In an effort to reduce organic emissions from hazardous
waste incineration, AEERL, in cooperation with Sonotech, an
Atlanta, GA firm, is retrofitting a rotary kiln incinerator
simulator with a prototype pulse combustor, replacing the kiln's
primary burner. This pulse combustor can be tuned to a variety
of frequencies, with the goal of setting up acoustic resonance
within the rotary kiln chamber. The acoustic resonance
provides improved mixing, which theoretically can reduce the
transient emissions of organics that occur from batch charging
of rotary kilns. Preliminary testing to examine ways to
minimize incomplete combustion by using the prototype has
been completed. (Paul Lemieux, AEERL, FTS 629-0962)
Waste Packaging to Reduce Transient Organic Emissions from
Incinerators
AEERL engineers have applied for a patent for a container
insert designed to compartmentalize volatile solvent waste
material within drums to reduce the transient organic emissions
from incinerators. Volatile solvents, such as toluene or xylene,
are frequently absorbed onto an absorbent material, packaged
in drums, and then fed into rotary kiln incinerators. When a
drum containing a sorbent-bound volatile organic compound is
fed into the incinerator, the initial container rupture is followed
by rapid vaporization of the volatile matter inside the container.
If the waste release rate is greater than the rate of oxygen
supplied from the main burner, a transient "puff" or plug of
unburned material is formed. This could cause a temporary
incinerator system failure within the drum. This AEERL patent
uses compartmentalization of the waste to cause a delay in the
initial waste release, which reduces the magnitude and intensity
of the transient organic emissions and increases the waste feed
rate. At little additional cost, incinerator operators may be able
to increase the waste feed rate with lower organic emissions.
(Paul Lemieux, AEERL, FTS 629-0962)
Field Testing For Emission Characterization of Pesticide Bag
Burning
RREL conducted field tests to determine the composition of
off-gases and residue in the ash from actual open burning of
pesticide packaging bags were conducted using both clean
pesticide bags supplied by the manufacturer and bags that had
been emptied by farm workers, yet still contaminated with
pesticide products. The pesticides studied were Thimet®,
packaged in a foil-lined paper bag, and Atrazine®, packaged
in a plastic bag. Samples for organic analysis are being
extracted and wUl be analyzed within six weeks. The results
will be used to form an initial data base on the open burning of
pesticide bags and provide support to the Office of Pesticide
Programs in their decision to allow or prohibit this practice
under the Federal Insecticide/Fungicide and Rodenticide Act.
A final report will be completed in August and the data base
will be available in early summer 1991. (Glenn Shaul, RREL,
FTS 684-7408)
New Process Eliminates Emissions from Cleaning Painted
Surfaces
A new, innovative process eliminates the emissions
associated with the conventional, solvent-based process for
cleaning painted surfaces. The process uses plastic beads to
"bead blast" paint from surfaces. Solvents used to remove
paint typically contain up to 75% methylene chloride, which is
discharged to the environment during conventional paint
stripping processes. EPA engineers evaluated the plastic bead
blasting concept and recognized its potential for greatly
reducing the environmental effects associated with paint
removal. A cooperative EPA/DOD demonstration or the
technology has been completed. The results indicated that
typical painted surfaces can be stripped without damage, that
solvent emissions to the air are eliminated, that the process is
more efficient and less costly than either the use of solvents or
sand blasting, and that solid waste is reduced by over 90%.
The use of this innovative technology is now required in all
military depot facilities that have extensive paint stripping
requirements. It is also in limited use for some types of
military and commercial aircraft. (Charles H. Darvin,
AEERL, FTS, 629-7633)
Utility Acid Rain Control Cost Model
Culminating a decade-long development program, AEERL
has published the Integrated Air Pollution Control System
(IAPCS) cost model. The model will be used to estimate costs
for SO2, NOx, and paniculate matter control for coal-fired
electric utility plants, including those having to retrofit
controls in response to the recently passed Clean Air Act
Amendments and those having to design controls to meet new
source performance standards. It can be used to design and
estimate costs for 16 different technologies and various
combinations of them, including flue gas desulfurization,
low-NOx burners, and electrostatic precipitators. It is
particularly useful for system cost comparisons and cost
sensitivity studies with respect to coal sulfur content,
economic assumptions, and many other pollution control
design variables. The Office of Air Quality Planning and
Standards used the IAPCS to evaluate pollution control
options for the Navajo Generating Station in Arizona to
remedy visibility impairment by sulfur dioxide emissions in
Grand Canyon National Park. (Norman Kaplan, AEERL, FTS
629-2556)
-------
WATER ^ ., v .„.. ,
EPA and Germany Conduct Joint Research Project
RREL is conducting a joint research project with the
Engler-Bunte Institute, of Karlsruhe, Germany, in an effort to
acquire understanding and insight into current German
research on the use of granular activated carbon (GAC) for
treating drinking water. GAC is an emerging technology for
controlling drinking water contaminants in the United States,
and the German researchers have developed what appears to
be an accurate method of predicting pesticide breakthrough
profiles in GAC beds. The cooperative work involves
incorporating RREL's current research with the German's
method of predicting pesticide breakthrough profiles. The
expected output from this project is a book and a user-friendly
computer program that will determine pesticide breakthrough
profiles without the need for a detailed knowledge of the
state-of-the-art GAC models. The book will go into detail
about the assumptions made in the program and the
confidence bounds of any prediction. The expected users of
the program are utilities and organizations that have limited
knowledge of GAC modeling. The project is expected to be
completed later this year. (Tom Speth, RREL, FTS 684-7208)
Waste Minimization Assessment at Alaskan Coast Guard Base
Phase I of a waste minimization project at a Coast Guard
Base in Ketchikan, AK, has been successfully completed. This
joint EPA/Coast Guard/Alaska Department of Environmental
Conservation study includes two phases: waste minimization
assessment and implementation. The waste minimization
assessment phase targets the waste generating activities for
source reduction and recycling options, analyzes the technical
and economic feasibilities of waste minimization options, and
recommends selected options for implementation. This first
phase encompassed traditional R&D activities performed
through the Waste Reduction Evaluation at Federal Sites
(WREAFS) Program which result in identifying R&D needs,
opportunities for demonstrations, and technology transfer of
proven waste minimization techniques and technologies.
The second phase is the implementation phase, which
follows the recommendations through management
implementation, equipment and procedural changes, and the
evaluation of performance and success of waste minimization.
The assessment phase of this study has been very successful,
and the final phase will provide ORD with information on
implementation of waste assessment options and research the
success of pollution prevention at a Federal facility. (James
Bridges, RREL, FTS 684-7683)
ORD Scientist Adjunct Member of NASA Team
Dr. Thomas H. Mace, EMSL-LV, recently attended the
NASA Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MODIS)
Science Team Meeting at Goddard Space Flight Center in
Greenbelt, MD. MODIS is the flagship instrument for
EOS-A, the first of the earth observing system (EOS) remote
sensing systems, which will be launched in 1998. This
attendance marks the first involvement of EPA as an adjunct
member of one of the NASA technical science teams. Dr.
Mace participated in discussions involving the development of
the aircraft and satellite simulations, the definition of MODIS
requirements, and offered the potential for interaction between
MODIS site investigations and research with EPA's
Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program (EMAP).
It is anticipated that EMSL-LV scientists will serve as
adjunct members of several other EOS remote sensing
systems teams, as well as the EOSDIS (data distribution)
team. (Thomas Mace, EMSL-LV, FTS 545-2262)
United States-Soviet Union Joint Environmental Protection
Technology Demonstration
The United States and the Soviet Union have implemented
an agreement that will share valuable data on the application
of the returning NOx control process to wall-fired and
cyclone-type boilers. AEERL, in cooperation with the
Electric Power Research Institute, the Gas Research Institute,
the Department of Energy, Ohio Coal Development Office,
and Combustion Engineering, is applying rebuming
technology to a 108-MW, coal-fired, cyclone type boiler in
Niles, OH. In an effort to apply this process to a wall-fired
boiler, AEERL convinced the Soviet Union to demonstrate
this technology. The USSR dedicated a 160 MW, wall-fired
boiler at the Ladyzhin Power Station, located in the Ukraine,
for the demonstration. The United States will obtain
invaluable data for a wall-fired boiler, while the Soviet side
will obtain data from the Niles demonstration. Each will save
approximately ten million dollars in expenditures, while fully
demonstrating a promising technology that might not have
been possible for either country without the joint effort. The
final results from both demonstrations should be reported by
the spring of 1992. (Bob Hall, AEERL, FTS 629-2477)
TtfU.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: I»9I - 54IUIZX/400U
------- |