&EPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Solid Waste And
Emergency Response
Research And
Development
(RD-681)
EPA/540/5-90/001
March 1990
The Superfund
Innovative Technology
Evaluation Program
Progress And
Accomplishments
Fiscal Year 1989
A Third Report To Congress
SUPERFUND INNOVATIVE
TECHNOLOGY EVALUATION
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EPA/540/5-90/001
March 1990
THE SUPERFUND INNOVATIVE
TECHNOLOGY EVALUATION PROGRAM
PROGRESS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Fiscal Year 1989
A Third Report To Congress
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Kegion 5, Library (5PL-16)
230 S. Dearborn Street, Room 1670
Chicago, II, 60604
Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response
Office of Research and Development
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Washington, DC 20460
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PREFACE
This document is the third Report to Congress on
the progress and accomplishments of the Superfund In-
novative Technology Evaluation (SITE) Program. The
first Report to Congress, published in February 1988,
described the regulatory authority and process for
establishing the SITE Program. The first report was
prepared prior to completion of the program's first
technology demonstration so no results were available.
The second Report to Congress focused on the com-
pleted demonstrations and summarized the performance
data and results for seven technology demonstrations.
This report described the progress and accomplishments
of the components that were initiated during the first
year of the program and the two components
implemented during the second year. The second report
also identified the impediments encountered during the
first two years of the program and described the
refinements that EPA has implemented to address these
problems and improve the effectiveness of the SITE
Program. These concerns were also addressed in
the Management Review of the Superfund Program.
Activities to implement the review's recommendations
are discussed in this third report.
The third Report to Congress reports the progress
and accomplishments for each of the SITE Program
components. Although this report is similar in scope
to the second Report to Congress, there are some signi-
ficant differences in format. The format of the section
reporting the progress and accomplishments of the SITE
Demonstration Program has been changed. The first
two reports organized the demonstration projects
chronologically by solicitation number. This report has
organized the demonstration projects by type of
treatment technology (e.g., thermal, biological, solid-
ification/stabilization, chemical, and physical). Within
each major treatment category, the technologies have
been separated into subcategories, and brief descriptions
of these different treatment processes are included. Dem-
onstration technologies were then grouped under each
treatment subcategory, as applicable, to facilitate
comparison of various treatment technologies.
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CONTENTS
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY vi
I. INTRODUCTION 1-1
A. Statutory Authority 1-1
B. Historical Perspective 1-2
C. SITE Program Components 1-3
1. SITE Demonstration Program 1-3
2. Emerging Technologies Program 14
3. Monitoring and Measurement Technologies Program 1-4
4. Technology Transfer Program 14
D. Management Review of the Superfund Program 1-5
1. Overview of the Report 1-5
2. Actions to Implement Recommendations 1-5
II. THE SITE DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM H-l
A. SITE Implementation Process H-l
1. Selection of Technologies n-1
2. Selection of Demonstration Sites n-2
3. Negotiation of Cooperative Agreements n-2
4. Community Relations Activities n-3
5. Demonstration Planning Process n-3
6. Reporting Results n-3
7. Estimates of Technology Implementation Costs 114
B. Demonstration Program Progress and Accomplishments II-6
1. Thermal Treatment Technologies n-6
2. Biological Treatment Technologies 11-13
3. Solidification/Stabilization Treatment Technologies 11-17
4. Chemical Treatment Technologies 11-25
5. Physical Treatment Technologies II-28
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III. EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES PROGRAM ffl-1
A. Accomplishments ffl-1
1. E-01 Emerging Technologies ffl-1
2. E-02 Emerging Technologies ffl-5
B. Future Activities ffl-8
IV. MONITORING AND MEASUREMENT TECHNOLOGIES PROGRAM IV-1
A. Accomplishments FV-1
B. Future Activities IV-2
V. TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER PROGRAM V-l
A. Accomplishments V-l
1. SITE Reports, Videos, Brochures, and Publications V-l
2. International Forum on Innovative Hazardous Waste
Treatment Technologies V- 2
3. Clearinghouses V- 2
4. Cooperative Efforts with Other Federal Agencies V-3
5. Regional SITE Coordinator's Meetings V-3
6. Seminar Series V- 4
7. Technical Assistance to Regions, States, and
Cleanup Contractors V-4
8. Public Meetings and Demonstration Site Visits V-4
B. Future Activities V-4
APPENDICES: 1. List of Publications
2. Sample Technology Fact Sheet
3. Sample Demonstration Bulletin
4. List of Acronyms, Abbreviations, and Trade Names
VI
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization
Act of 1986 (SARA) directs the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) to establish an "Alternative or
Innovative Treatment Technology Research and
Demonstration Program" and to submit an annual report
to Congress describing the progress and results of this
program. In response to this mandate, EPA established
the Superfund Innovative Technology Evaluation
(SITE) Program to: (1) accelerate the development,
demonstration, and use of new or innovative treatment
technologies and (2) demonstrate and evaluate new,
innovative measurement and monitoring technologies.
The strategy and program plan for the SITE Program
was published in December 1986, and the progress and
accomplishments of the program were first reported to
the United States Congress in February 1988 and again
in March 1989.
This document is the third report to Congress on the
progress and results of the SITE Program. This report
presents a brief history of the program and the statute
that authorized its establishment. The report includes
an overview of the four components of the SITE
Program, and describes the process, progress, results,
and future activities for each of these components. The
major accomplishments for each component of the
SITE Program are highlighted below.
SITE Demonstration Program. The SITE
Demonstration Program was established to develop
reliable performance and cost information on innovative
alternative technologies that could be used in
remediation decision-making for hazardous waste sites.
The 38 technologies presently active in the SITE
Demonstration Program represent five process
categories. There are currently seven thermal, five
biological, nine solidification/stabilization, four
chemical, and thirteen physical technologies in the
program. To date, EPA has completed 14 technology
field demonstrations.
The major accomplishments of the
Demonstration Program in FY 1989 include:
SITE
Twelve new technology developers were accepted
into the SITE Demonstration Program under the
fourth solicitation cycle.
Seven demonstrations were completed.
At least 10 technologies are now in the planning
stages for field demonstrations.
Twelve reports, including eight Technology
Evaluation Reports and four Applications Analysis
Reports, were published on eight of the completed
demonstrations. Eleven additional reports are in
different stages of preparation and review.
Emerging Technologies Program. This program
was established to promote the development of
innovative alternative technologies. Laboratory bench-
and pilot-scale technologies that are not yet ready for
field demonstration are evaluated for their potential for
future field use. The Emerging Technologies Program
assures that technologies can be tested early in their
development, and that promising technologies can
"feed" into the Demonstration Program. There is
currently a total of 15 bench- and pilot-scale
technologies in the program.
The major accomplishments of the Emerging
Technologies Program in FY 1989 include:
Results to date were sufficiently encouraging to
warrant approval for second-year funding for five of
the projects from the first solicitation.
Seven new bench- or pilot-scale technologies were
accepted from the second solicitation, and one
additional technology was accepted from the first
solicitation.
EPA has evaluated 47 preproposals submitted in
response to the third solicitation issued in July
1989.
Monitoring and Measurement Technologies
Program. This component of the SITE Program was
designed to improve Superfund site characterization
efforts through the development of new and innovative
monitoring and measurement technologies. The
Monitoring and Measurement Technologies Program
(MMTP) has both an emerging technologies and a field
demonstration component. In prior years, the MMTP
concentrated predominantly on laboratory research that
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focused on the developmental stage of monitoring and
measurement technologies. The MMTP is now
moving toward the field demonstration of monitoring
and measurement technologies that have progressed
beyond the development stage.
During FY 1989, the first two monitoring and
measurement technologies were demonstrated at
Superfund sites. These two technologies were:
A field immunoassay kit and a laboratory-based
immunoassay for measuring pentachlorophenol in
groundwater, and
Canister-based samplers and long-path optical
system (high resolution Fourier-transform infrared
spectrometer) for monitoring toxic organics in
ambient air.
It is anticipated that three to five additional
monitoring and measurement technologies will be
funded for demonstration in 1990.
Technology Transfer Program. Comprised of
numerous components that incorporate a variety of
outreach activities, this program disseminates
demonstration and waste remediation data from all
components of the SITE Program to regional and state
managers of Superfund cleanup activities, federal
agencies, the engineering community, related industries,
and the public.
The major accomplishments of the Technology
Transfer Program during FY 1989 include:
Numerous publications were prepared and
disseminated including eight Technology Evaluation
Reports, four Applications Analysis Reports, six
SITE videos, two program status brochures,
numerous project fact sheets and bulletins, and
technical papers and posters.
EPA sponsored an international forum on
innovative ha/ardous waste treatment technologies
that was attended by over 530 representatives of the
United States and seven other countries. The
purpose of the conference was to introduce
promising international technologies through tech-
nical papers and poster displays, and to discuss the
status and results of SITE Program technologies.
The ATTIC system became operational in May
1989. Over 400 copies of the database have been
distributed, and over 150 requests for information
have been processed. The ATTIC system was made
available online in November 1989.
EPA and the Department of Energy (DOE) signed a
Memorandum of Understanding to conduct a joint
demonstration under the SITE Program at a DOE
facility contaminated with mixed radioactive and
hazardous waste.
A Regional SITE Coordinator's Meeting was held
to identify potential demonstration sites for new
technologies entering the SITE Program.
Visitor's Days were held to observe field activities
for six demonstrations and attendance ranged from
30-135 visitors.
A major focus in the upcoming year will be the
field demonstration of the 24 technologies in the SITE
Demonstration Program that remain to be demonstrated.
Efforts will be directed to continue to expedite the report
preparation process and to provide interim results. The
fifth solicitation will be released in January 1990.
Evaluation of the 15 laboratory bench- and pilot-scale
technologies in the Emerging Technologies Program
will continue during FY 1990, Final selection of an
expanded number of emerging technologies accepted
into the program under the third solicitation will be
completed in March 1990. The fourth solicitation for
emerging technologies is expected to be published in
July 1990. Demonstration reports for the two
monitoring and measurement technology
demonstrations will be available in the coming year.
Technology transfer activities will continue for the
technologies that are currently in the program and will
be initiated for the new technologies entering the
program in FY 1990 under the SITE Demonstration
Program and the Emerging Technologies Program.
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I. INTRODUCTION
A. STATUTORY AUTHORITY
The Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization
Act of 1986 (SARA) (Section 209(b)) amends Title III
of the Comprehensive Environmental Response,
Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA)
by adding Section 311 which directs the Environmental
Protection Agency to establish an "Alternative or
Innovative Treatment Technology Research and
Demonstration Program" and to submit a report to
Congress annually on the progress and results of this
program. As required in Section 311(e), this report
presents the program's accomplishments through Fiscal
Year 1989 and is the third annual report to Congress.
In response to SARA, EPA has established a formal
program to: (1) accelerate the development,
demonstration, and evaluation of new or innovative
treatment technologies, (2) demonstrate and evaluate
new, innovative monitoring and measurement
technologies, and (3) disseminate information
concerning the performance and applicability of these
innovative treatment technologies to facilitate their use
in providing more permanent remedies at contaminated
sites. This program is called the Superfund Innovative
Technology Evaluation (SITE) Program. The strategy
and program plan were published in December 1986,
and the progress and accomplishments of the program
were first reported to the United States Congress in
February 1988 (The Superfund Innovative Technology
Evaluation Program Progress and Accomplishments: A
Report to Congress; EPA/540/5-88/001), and then
reported again in March 1989 (The Superfund
Innovative Technology Evaluation Program: Progress
and Accomplishments Fiscal Year 1988;
EPA/540/5-89/009).
The overall goal of the SITE Program is to "carry
out a program of research, evaluation, testing,
development, and demonstration of alternative or
innovative treatment technologies ... which may be
utilized in response actions to achieve more permanent
protection of human health and welfare and the
environment." Specifically, the goal of the program is
to maximize the use of alternatives to land disposal in
cleaning up Superfund sites by encouraging the
development and demonstration of new, innovative
treatment and monitoring technologies. SARA defines
"alternative technologies" as "those technologies,
including proprietary or patented methods, which
permanently alter the composition of hazardous waste
through chemical, biological, or physical means so as
to significantly reduce the toxicity, mobility, or volume
(or any combination thereof) of the hazardous waste or
contaminated materials being treated. The term also
includes technologies that characterize or assess the
extent of contamination, the chemical and physical
character of the contaminants, and the stresses imposed
by the contaminants on complex ecosystems at sites."
Under the SITE Program, alternative technologies are
classified by their development status as follows:
Available Alternative Technology. Technologies,
such as incineration, that are fully proven and in
routine commercial or private use.
Innovative Alternative Technology. Any fully
developed technology for which cost or performance
information is incomplete, thus hindering routine
use at hazardous waste sites. An innovative
alternative technology requires field testing and
evaluation before it is considered proven and
available for routine use.
Emerging Alternative Technology. An emerging
technology is one in an earlier stage of
development; the research has involved laboratory
testing and is being developed for pilot-scale prior
to field testing at Superfund sites.
The development process for alternative
technologies proceeds through four stages-lab scale
development, pilot scale-up, field demonstration, and
evaluation and technology transfer. Emerging
technologies are generally those technologies in the lab
scale development and the pilot scale-up stages. In-
novative technologies include those technologies in the
pilot scale-up stage that show promise of being
scaled-up rapidly to full scale following pilot-scale
testing, and those technologies that are developed and
ready for full-scale field demonstration. Technologies
are ready for commercialization following the
demonstration and evaluation stage. Available
technologies are those technologies in the technology
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transfer stage-they have been tested and evaluated,
performance data is available, and they are commercially
available.
The SITE Program assists technology developers in
the development and evaluation of new and innovative
treatment technologies, and thus enhances the likelihood
that these technologies will eventually be commercially
available and used at hazardous waste cleanup sites as
alternatives to land-based containment systems presently
in use. The program consists of the following major
objectives:
To conduct and monitor demonstrations of
promising innovative technologies to provide
reliable performance, cost, and applicability
information for future site characterization and
cleanup decision-making.
To identify and remove informational impediments
to the use of alternative technologies.
To encourage the development of emerging
alternative technologies.
Section 121(b) of CERCLA states a preference for
treatment technologies that permanently reduce the
volume, toxicity, or mobility of the hazardous
substances, pollutants, or contaminants. The SITE
Program focuses on the development, demonstration,
and evaluation of such technologies. Section 209(b) of
SARA authorizes EPA to establish a field
demonstration program for testing innovative treatment
technologies at Superfund sites. The demonstrations
conducted under the SITE Program utilize actual wastes
to better evaluate the performance of the technologies in
the field.
The SITE Program also supports the development
and testing of improved monitoring and measurement
technologies to be used at Superfund sites. This
component of the program is intended to improve
capabilities in site assessment, measuring the extent of
contamination, as well as measuring the effectiveness of
a demonstrated technology.
Recognizing that access to accurate, pertinent
information is essential to the acceptance and use of
alternative technologies, Section 311(b)(8) of CERCLA
also directs EPA to "... conduct a technology transfer
program including the development, collection,
evaluation, coordination, and dissemination of
information relating to the utilization of alternative or
innovative treatment technologies for response
actions..." The statute requires the Agency to establish
and maintain a technology transfer program that is
directed toward disseminating reliable, current
information on the performance, cost, and applicability
of innovative treatment technologies to facilitate their
use in remediating contaminated sites. As described in
Section V of this report, EPA has established an
information center to ensure that program findings, as
well as other treatability data, will be available to the
Agency and other parties responsible for remediation
decisions and activities at hazardous waste sites.
This report documents the progress made by the
SITE Program through Fiscal Year 1989. It also
summarizes continuing activities. The report includes
an overview of the development of the SITE Program
and its components; recommendations for the SITE
Program from the Management Review of the
Superfund Program; and the progress, accomplishments,
and planned activities for each of the four major
components of the SITE Program.
B. HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE
Prior to the enactment of SARA, concern had been
growing among the scientific community, citizens, and
government officials over: (1) the effectiveness of
conventional methods for managing hazardous wastes at
Superfund sites in protecting human health and the
environment, (2) the tremendous costs associated with
remediating contaminated sites, and (3) the increasing
volume of hazardous wastes being generated which
requires disposal. Land disposal is not the best solution
for much of the hazardous waste present at these sites,
and for some wastes it is prohibited as a disposal option.
The need for reliable, cost-effective treatment solutions
that offer more permanent remedies has been stressed by
numerous studies and recent legislation. In addition to
the preferences for waste treatment contained in SARA,
the Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments (HSWA)
of 1984 (reauthorization of the Resource Conservation
and Recovery Act) imposed additional prohibitions on
land disposal of most hazardous wastes, effective
August 8, 1988. These restrictions affect nearly
one-third of all hazardous wastes regulated by EPA and
may require treatment of many Superfund wastes that
previously might have been placed untreated into land
disposal units. Additional prohibitions on the second
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third of remaining wastes were imposed on June 8,
1989. Final tules to be published by May 8, 1990,
will restrict the disposal of all hazardous wastes
regulated by EPA under HSWA.
The scientific and engineering communities
recognized that the demand for treatment often exceeded
the availability and capability of existing technologies.
Studies have concluded that research, development, and
demonstration (RD&D) devoted to innovative cleanup
technologies were inadequate. The Science Advisory
Board to EPA also recommended that the Agency
embark on a comprehensive research program to
investigate more effective, permanent solutions.
In response to these growing concerns, EPA moved
ahead in early 1986 to establish a technology
demonstration program. A strategy was developed to
lay out the problems, impediments, and possible
solutions relative to the increased use of innovative
treatment technologies at Superfund sites, prior to the
enactment of SARA. This strategy formed the
foundation of the SITE Program.
C. SITE PROGRAM COMPONENTS
The SITE Program has evolved over the past three
years into a program consisting of four major
components. Each component was designed to address
specific information needs to foster the use of
innovative alternative technologies and/or eliminate
impediments that inhibit their use in treating hazardous
wastes.
There are a number of impediments inhibiting the
acceptance and use of alternative technologies for the
treatment of hazardous wastes at Superfund sites. These
technologies often have not had the opportunity to be
proven effective on a commercial scale or have not been
used for specific applications at hazardous waste sites.
As a result, it is difficult to assure potentially
responsible parties, site owners, and the affected
community that technologies that have not undergone
field-scale demonstration will be effective in remediating
a site. A key component of the SITE Program is the
removal of these informational impediments by
supporting demonstrations that will provide reliable
performance and cost data.
To foster this comprehensive program for the
development, acceptance, and utilization of new and
improved technologies, the SITE Program includes the
following four components:
SITE Demonstration Program
Emerging Technologies Program
Monitoring and Measurement Technologies
Program
Technology Transfer Program.
1. SITE Demonstration Program
One of the most important aspects of the SITE
Program is the evaluation of the demonstrations of
full-scale technologies or pilot-scale technologies that
can be scaled-up for commercial use. The
Demonstration Program has been the primary focus of
the SITE Program because these technologies are close
to being available for selection in remediation of
Superfund sites, and offer the greatest potential for
impacting the use of these technologies. The major
objective of the SITE Demonstration Program is to
develop extensive performance engineering and cost
information on innovative alternative technologies so
that they can be adequately considered in remediation
decision-making for hazardous waste sites. The
demonstrations are designed to provide information to
assist potential users in making sound judgments as to
the applicability of the technology for a specific site and
particular wastes, and to compare the technology's
effectiveness and cost to other alternatives. The results
of the demonstrations identify the limitations of the
technology, the potential need for pre- and
post-processing of wastes, the types of wastes and
media to which the process can be applied, the potential
operating problems, and the approximate capital and
operating costs. The demonstrations also permit
evaluation of long-term risks. Demonstrations usually
occur at Superfund sites, and involve wastes that are
typically encountered at these sites to assure the
reliability of the information collected and acceptability
of the data by users.
Developers are responsible for demonstrating their
innovative systems at selected sites and are expected to
pay the costs to transport equipment to the site, operate
the equipment onsite during the demonstration, and
remove the equipment from the site. EPA is responsible
for project planning, sampling and analysis, data quality
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assurance and quality control, report preparation, and
information dissemination. If the developer is unable to
obtain financing elsewhere, in some instances, EPA
will consider bearing a greater portion of the total
project cost. The demonstrations enable EPA to assess
the performance, reliability, applications, limitations,
and costs of new and innovative technologies. This
information can then be used in conjunction with
existing data to select the most appropriate technologies
for the cleanup of existing Superfund sites. There are
currently 38 active technologies in the SITE
Demonstration Program. Of these, 14 technology
demonstrations have been completed, and EPA is
working with the developers of the remaining 24
technologies in preparing for their demonstrations. At
least ten demonstrations are in the planning stages for
field demonstration. The progress and accomplishments
for the SITE Demonstration Program are described in
Section II.
During the first three years of the SITE Program,
EPA has gained valuable insight into management and
implementation of all aspects of the SITE
Demonstration Program. The Agency continues to
incorporate refinements in the demonstration process,
including establishing policies, guidelines, and
procedures to streamline and improve technology
selection, site selection, demonstration planning and
implementation, and preparation and dissemination of
the demonstration and applications reports.
2. Emerging Technologies Program
This component of the SITE Program involves
bench- and pilot-scale evaluation of technologies or
approaches that are not ready for full-scale
demonstration. Its goal is to ensure that a steady stream
of improved, innovative technologies will be ready for
scale-up in the Demonstration Program, thereby
increasing the number of viable alternatives available
for use in Superfund site remediations. The Emerging
Technologies Program incorporates innovative tech-
nologies for recycling, separation, detoxification,
destruction, and solidification/stabilization of
hazardous constituents and materials handling
technologies. Candidate technologies must show
promise at the bench/laboratory-scale. It is anticipated
that the most successful emerging technologies will
"feed" into the SITE Demonstration Program for field
demonstration and evaluation. Unlike the SITE
Demonstration Program, the projects in the Emerging
Technologies Program are cooperatively funded by EPA.
There are currently 15 active projects in the Emerging
Technologies Program, and the progress and accomplish-
ments for the program are presented in Section III.
3. Monitoring and Measurement
Technologies Program
This component of the SITE Program is designed
to support Superfund site characterization efforts by
furthering the development of innovative monitoring
and measurement technologies. EPA laboratories are
exploring new and innovative technologies that will
permit improved assessment of the extent of
contamination, characterization of contaminants, and
evaluation of remedial/removal activities at hazardous
waste sites. The four goals for effective monitoring and
measurement technologies at Superfund sites include:
(1) to assess accurately the degree of contamination at a
site, (2) to provide data and information to determine
impacts to health and the environment, (3) to supply
data for the selection of the most appropriate remedial
action, and (4) to monitor the success/failure or
effectiveness of a selected remedy. Through the
enactment of SARA, EPA has been provided with a
mechanism specifically aimed at supporting monitoring
technologies at Superfund sites. The Monitoring and
Measurement Technologies Program focuses only on
technologies that detect, monitor, and measure
hazardous and toxic substances in air, surface water,
groundwater, soil, subsurface (saturated and vadose)
zones, wastes, and biological tissues. The progress and
accomplishments of this program are presented in
Section IV.
4. Technology Transfer Program
The Technology Transfer Program encompasses a
variety of public outreach and information
dissemination activities that support the SITE Program.
These efforts are integral components of the program
and are essential to its success. Dissemination of data
from demonstrations conducted under the SITE Program
and access to existing hazardous waste remediation data
are the key to increasing the use of alternative
technologies at Superfund sites. The overall purpose of
the technology transfer activities is the development of
an interactive communication network with those
requiring up-to-date technical information and assistance
to ensure that they receive needed information in a
timely, convenient manner.
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The Technology Transfer Program is composed of
numerous components that incorporate a variety of
activities, including:
SITE Reports, Videos, Brochures, and Publications
International Meetings
Clearinghouses (Alternative Treatment Technology
Information Center, OSWER Bulletin Board, and
Technical Information Exchange)
Cooperative Efforts with Other Federal Agencies
Seminar Series
Public Meetings and Demonstration Site Visits.
The various activities that have occurred and pub-
lications that have been prepared under the Technology
Transfer Program are described in Section V.
D. MANAGEMENT REVIEW OF THE
SUPERFUND PROGRAM
1. Overview of the Report
In response to questions concerning the
achievements of the Superfund program over the past
nine years and its future management, EPA conducted a
management review of the program. Completed in
approximately 90 days, the review comprises facts,
observations, and interpretations drawn from EPA staff
and from a variety of critics and supporters outside of
the Superfund program. The 50 recommendations
resulting from this assessment were published in June
1989 in a report entitled A Management Review of the
Superfund Program (referred to as the 90-Day Study).
This candid report sets forth a practical, long-term
strategy for the Superfund program and has received
broad acceptance both from within and outside the
Agency. One of the key elements of the study, directly
related to the SITE Program, focused on seeking new
technologies for more effective cleanup. The study
recommended that the Agency expand its research, and
provide more comprehensive field support for the
development and use of treatment technologies to
promote permanent solutions.
The 90-Day Study strongly supports the SITE
Program and presents recommendations aimed at
strengthening it to more fully satisfy technology
information and development needs. The study
challenges EPA to invest more heavily in the
development and use of treatment technologies to bring
about permanent remedies in the field and identifies
opportunities for further research. The major findings
of the study concerning the SITE Program were that the
program needed to further expand the range of available
technologies and that information from completed
demonstrations should be produced and disseminated
more rapidly.
The six major recommendations in the report
relative to the SITE Program are to:
(1) Evaluate performance and cost of technologies
already being used at Superfund sites.
(2) Conduct additional demonstrations of innovative
technologies.
(3) Support development of emerging laboratory- and
pilot-scale technologies.
(4) Evaluate combinations of technologies in addition
to individual technologies.
(5) Provide rapid reporting of demonstration results
through performance bulletins and by placing
results in an information clearinghouse and by
reducing production time for full reports.
(6) Suggest ways to eliminate internal barriers to the
introduction of new technologies into the Superfund
program.
EPA developed an Implementation Plan in
September 1989 to describe and assign responsibility
for the activities to be carried out in response to the
recommendations of the 90-Day Study.
2. Actions to Implement Recommendations
The Agency has taken immediate steps to review
and implement the six recommendations in the 90-Day
Study related to the SITE Program. A brief description
of these actions is presented below.
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Evaluate Performance and Cost of Technologies
Already Seine Used at Suoerfund Sitex. Selected new in-
novative and available technologies, that are not SITE
demonstrations but are being used at Superfund sites
as the permanent remedy selection, will be evalu-
ated. EPA will identify candidate technologies by
March 1990. The first evaluation will begin in late
1990, and will include the performance of the
technology, especially in the areas of process reliability,
cost, and applicability to other sites and wastes.
Conduct Additional Demonstrations of Innovative
Technologies. Opportunities exist to evaluate and
support technologies that are not already in the SITE
Program. Both the Department of Defense (DOD) and
the Department of Energy (DOE) are working with EPA
on treatment technology evaluations. For example,
EPA has initiated discussions with the Department of
Energy to conduct a cooperative EPA/DOE SITE
Program demonstration evaluation on mixed or
low-level radioactive waste. Several planning meetings
have been held to identify potential DOE sites for the
demonstration. EPA and DOE signed a Memorandum
of Understanding in December 1989. It is anticipated
that a joint EPA/DOE demonstration evaluation will be
conducted in the summer of 1990.
There is also a need to expand the range and types of
technologies that are currently participating in the SITE
Program. While thermal and solidification technologies
are well represented, others such as biological,
chemical, and physical treatment technologies are not.
EPA will initiate special outreach efforts to bring other
types of technologies into the program.
Support Development of Emerging Laboratory- and
Pilot-Scale Technologies. One of the goals of the
Emerging Technologies Program is to ensure that a
steady stream of improved, innovative technologies will
be ready for scale-up in the Demonstration Program.
Thus, EPA will expand the number of emerging
technologies accepted into the program in FY 1990 in
order to accelerate the future potential of these
technologies as candidates for the Demonstration
Program.
Evaluate Combinations of Technologies in Addition
to Individual Technologies. Currently, the majority of
the SITE Program evaluations are individual
technologies, but often in the remedial design phase of
the permanent remedy selection combinations of two or
more technologies are necessary. For example, the two
BioTrol technologies in the SITE Program combine a
soil washing system and a biological treatment system.
At the SITE demonstration evaluation test, the soil
washing technology cleaned soils contaminated with
PCP and creosote. The process water, resulting from
the soil washing treatment system, was then treated
biologically in a fixed-film bioreactor to remove PCP
and cresote contaminants.
Provide Rapid Reporting of Demonstration Results
through Pqrfortnance Bulletins, and by Placing Results
in an Information Clearinghouse, and Reduce
Production Time for Reports. In October 1989, EPA
completed a review of the current SITE Program
information transfer process to identify ways to
accelerate reporting of demonstration results. Based on
this review, a revised reporting system is being
developed and will be implemented by January 1990.
Suggest Ways to Eliminate Internal Barriers to the
Introduction of New Technologies into the $uperfund
Program. In response to this recommendation, in early
1990, EPA will meet with the developers who have
completed SITE demonstrations to identify internal
constraints they have experienced during their
participation in the SITE Program. Based on these
meetings, EPA will identify by June 1990 changes to
the SITE Program to facilitate the demonstration and
commercialization of new innovative technologies.
The 90-Day Study also recommended that EPA
establish an information clearinghouse containing data,
reports, and references from EPA, states, and other
evaluations of technology performance. It was further
recommended that the clearinghouse include a
computerized database that allows access through
telephone inquiry, online computer access, and printed
material. EPA has implemented the ATTIC system to
give users easy access to information on alternative
treatment technologies to encourage their use in
remediating contaminated sites.
The remaining sections of this report present the
FY 1989 accomplishments and FY 1990 future
activities for the SITE Demonstration Program,
Emerging Technologies Program, Monitoring and
Measurement Technologies Program, and the
Technology Transfer Program.
1-6
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II. THE SITE DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM
Based on the emphasis placed on demonstrations in
Section 311(b) of CERCLA, the Demonstration
Program has been the primary focus of the SITE
Program. Now in its third year, the SITE Program is
providing data on alternative treatment technologies
necessary to implement new federal and state cleanup
requirements that are aimed at permanent remedies rather
than land disposal.
This section addresses the implementation process
and the FY 1989 progress and accomplishments for the
SITE Demonstration Program.
A. SITE IMPLEMENTATION PROCESS
The procedures developed and the activities that have
been performed under each of the major steps of the
SITE demonstration process are briefly discussed in the
following sections.
1. Selection of Technologies
EPA has developed implementation procedures to
ensure that the SITE Demonstration Program
encourages developer participation, gathers required data,
and provides adequate safeguards for human health and
the environment. This process includes the following
major steps:
Selection of technologies for participation.
Selection of sites for the demonstrations.
Establishment of cooperative agreements with
developers.
Development and implementation of community
relations activities.
Preparation of detailed plans for the demonstration.
Demonstration of the technology and preparation of
reports on the demonstration results.
Estimation of technology implementation costs.
Technologies are accepted into the program through
an annual solicitation published in the Commerce
Business Daily. Preproposal conferences are held at
various locations around the United States to give
potential responders the opportunity to discuss the
purpose, scope, and process of the SITE Program with
EPA personnel. In response to the solicitation,
technology developers submit proposals to EPA
addressing the following selection criteria:
Technology Factors. Description of the technology
and its history; identification of effective operating
range; materials handling capabilities; application
to hazardous waste site cleanup; mobility of
equipment; capital and operating costs; advantages
over existing comparable technologies; previous
performance data; and identification of health,
safety, and environmental problems.
Capability of the Developer. Development of other
technologies; completion of field tests; experience,
credentials, and availability of key personnel; and
capability to commercialize and market the
technology.
Approach to Testing. Operations plan; materials
and equipment; range of testing; health and safety
plan; monitoring plan; quality assurance plan;
assignment of responsibilities; backup treatment
system plan; and regulatory compliance plan.
Once the proposals are received, they are reviewed
by a panel of EPA experts. Meetings are held with
developers to address specific questions on their
technologies. The developers of technologies that are
considered acceptable are then notified.
Four solicitation cycles have been completed.
These have been titled SITE-001, SITE-002, SITE-003,
and SITE-004. The SITE-005 solicitation will be
released in January 1990. Exhibit II-1 presents
information on the 38 active technology demonstration
projects for the four completed solicitation cycles.
SOUOTAHON
CYCLE
SITE-001
SITE-002
SITE-003
SITE-004
DATE RFP
ISSUED
3/15/86
1/15/87
1/16/88
1/6/89
NUMBER OF
RESPONSES
RECEIVED
20
29
31
24
NUMBER OF
TECHNOLOGES
SELECTED
13
11
12
12
NUMBER OF
ACTIVE
PROJECTS
8
8
10
12
Exhibit II-l. Selection
Program Projects
of Demonstration
n-i
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A list of the technologies that have been accepted into
the SITE Program under the four solicitations is
presented in Exhibits II-2 through II-6.
Of the 38 active technologies accepted into the SITE
Program during the four solicitation cycles, there are
seven thermal, five biological, nine solidi-
fication/stabilization, four chemical, and thirteen
physical treatment technologies in the program.
Selection of SITE-005 Demonstration
Projects
Like the SITE-004 solicitation, the SITE-005 RFP
was advertised in trade journals as well as the Commerce
Business Daily. The RFP for the SITE-005 solicitation
will be issued in January 1990. The fifth solicitation
will focus on technologies that address: (1) the
treatment of mixed, low-level radioactive wastes in soil
and groundwater, (2) the treatment of soil and sludges
contaminated with organics and/or inorganics, (3)
materials handling as a preliminary step to treatment or
further processing, (4) treatment trains designed to
handle specific wastes, and (5) in-situ technologies,
especially those providing alternatives to conventional
groundwater "pump and treat" techniques.
2. Selection of Demonstration Sites
Once EPA has evaluated the technology proposals
and notified the developers of their acceptance into the
SITE Program, the demonstration site selection process
is initiated. Potential SITE demonstration locations
include federal and state Superfund removal and reme-
dial sites, sites from other federal agencies, and
developers' sites. The criteria used to screen and select
candidate sites for target demonstration include the
following:
Comparability of waste with the technology
Volume of waste
Variability of waste
Availability of data characterizing the waste
Accessibility of waste
Applicability of the technology to site cleanup
goals
Availability of required utilities (i.e., power and
water sources, sewers)
Support of community, state and local
governments, and potentially responsible parties.
EPA has continued to refine the site selection
process, and during FY 1989 additional procedures were
implemented to expedite the technology/site matching
process for SITE demonstrations. EPA is using three
approaches simultaneously to facilitate the selection of
sites for SITE-004 technologies:
Discussions were held with the regions and
developers regarding the type of waste needed for
the demonstration during the proposal and
interrogatory process. EPA has begun contacting
the regions concerning the sites suggested at these
meetings.
At the same time, information is being entered into
the Superfund Site Selection Support System on
Superfund sites for which Records of Decision
(RODs) are due in late FY 1990 and FY 1991.
Data on the type of site and waste required by the
SITE-004 technologies have been entered and will
be matched with compatible sites. The database has
allowed the identification of about 10 to 30
candidate sites for each SITE-004 technology.
The Office of Emergency and Remedial Response,
regions, and states were given the opportunity to
nominate sites based on technology information
provided to them in August 1989.
3. Negotiation of Cooperative Agreements
SARA authorizes the Agency to enter into grants,
contracts, and cooperative agreements with technology
developers. Applicants whose technologies are selected
into the SITE Program through the solicitation process
enter into cooperative agreements with the Agency that
determine the roles and responsibilities of both parties
to carry out specific projects. Usually, the developer
bears the cost of locating the technology onsite,
operating the equipment during the demonstration
period, and demobilizing the equipment following the
demonstration. EPA assists the developer with project
planning and site preparation, and pays the costs
associated with sampling and analysis, quality assurance
and control, evaluating the data, and preparing summary
reports.
n-2
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Section 311(b)(5)(J) permits EPA to fund up to
50% of the developer's cost of a SITE demonstration
project, if the developer shows that it cannot obtain
appropriate private financing on reasonable terms and
conditions sufficient to carry out the project without
federal assistance. EPA can provide no more than $3
million total for any single project and no more than
$10 million total in any one fiscal year for such
assistance. EPA's guidelines for financial assistance
were announced in January 1988 in the SITE-003
solicitation. As required by statute, developers selected
for the SITE Program that desire assistance are required
to demonstrate that an earnest effort has been made to
obtain financing and that a financial need exists. To
date, the demonstration projects have not involved
funding for technology developers.
4.Community Relations Activities
A well-planned community relations effort is an
integral part of the Superfund program, as well as the
SITE Program. In fact, Section 311(b)(5)(E) requires
the establishment of a public notice and comment
period prior to the final selection of a demonstration
site. The objective of this community relations
program is to actively encourage two-way
communication between affected communities and
government agencies responsible for cleanup actions.
The program enables local citizens to have input to
decisions regarding demonstration activities so that the
demonstration plan reflects and responds to public
concerns. At the same time, the community relations
program ensures that the community is provided with
accurate and timely information about the demonstration
and its progress. In designing a community relations
program for a particular SITE demonstration, EPA
focuses on the special concerns of the community.
EPA has prepared and distributed site-specific
technology fact sheets, and has organized public
meetings for SITE demonstrations.
5. Demonstration Planning Process
After technologies and sites are selected, the next
step in the process is development of a detailed
technology demonstration, testing, and evaluation plan.
The plan, included in the cooperative agreement between
EPA and the developer, specifies all activities needed to
ensure that the information objectives of the program
are met. For each demonstration, the following must
be addressed by the developer and EPA:
Evaluation program duration and schedule
Site preparation requirements
Detailed evaluation design
Sampling and analysis program
Quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) program
- Preparation and implementation of a QA/QC
Project Plan
- QA/QC field and laboratory audits
Health and safety requirements
- Provisions for medical monitoring of operating
and management personnel, if necessary
- Safety training for personnel who will be in a
restricted zone
- Determination of the level of required worker
protection (classification of outergarments as a
function of the type of exposure)
- Establishment of zones of safety; "clean area"
establishment and movement restrictions in
various zones
- Decontamination of personnel, outergarments
and equipment
- Emergency procedures
- Supervision responsibilities
Demobilization of equipment.
6. Reporting Results
During Fiscal Year 1989, EPA initiated a number
of actions to reduce the time for production and
dissemination of demonstration results. A rigid
reporting schedule has been implemented to ensure that
reports on the results of the demonstrations will be
available sooner. The elapsed time for report
publication has been reduced by 33%. The revised SITE
Program publications guidance provides for publication
of the demonstration results within six months of
fl-3
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completing the demonstration, and sets a goal for
release of both the Technology Evaluation Report and
Applications Analysis Report within one year from
completion of the field demonstration. Early meetings
between EPA and developers have helped to address and
resolve issues concerning interpretation of results. An
information clearinghouse for performance data on
treatment technologies has also been set up and pilot
tested. The clearinghouse, called the Alternative
Treatment Technology Information Center (ATTIC), is
a computer-based, key word searchable database that
contains data and abstracts from EPA treatability
studies, demonstrations, remedial actions, and state
activities from over 900 technical documents and
records. Interim results of the demonstrations are now
available on ATTIC and OSWER's Bulletin Board
shortly after preparation of the first draft of the report.
EPA has also initiated a pilot test of combining the
Technology Evaluation Report and the Applications
Analysis Report into one report.
There are two major reports for each demonstration.
The first is a technical report documenting the
performance data resulting from the demonstration, and
the second is a report that evaluates the applicability of
the technology to other sites and wastes.
The first report, entitled the Technology Evaluation
Report, includes testing, procedures, data collected, and
QA/QC conducted. It summarizes the results in terms
of performance (effectiveness and reliability) and cost.
The report also addresses issues such as applicability,
pre- and post-treatment requirements, and advantages/
disadvantages compared with available technologies.
EPA is responsible for publication and distribution of
the report following review and approval.
Successful demonstration of a technology at one
Superfund site does not, by itself, imply that the
technology can and will be adopted for use at other
Superfund sites. To enable and encourage the general
use of demonstrated technologies, EPA prepares a second
report that evaluates all available information on
the specific technology and the applicability of each
technology to other site characteristics, waste
types, and waste matrices. The report, entitled the
Applications Analysis Report, also provides cost
estimates for these applications and identifies
cost-controlling factors when appropriate. SITE
Applications Analysis Reports have been published
for four technologies: HAZCON, Inc., Shirco
Infrared Systems, Inc. (Peak Oil and Rose Township
demonstrations), American Combustion Inc., and Terra
Vac, Inc.
Once results become available, the technology
transfer component of the SITE Program provides
technical information to potential users in a timely
manner to facilitate future use of these technologies.
Details on the overall approach to technology transfer in
the SITE Program are presented in Section V.
7. Estimates of Technology Implementation
Costs
SARA requires the SITE Program to determine
whether or not each demonstrated technology is
"effective and feasible." The selection of a cleanup
solution involves tradeoffs among alternative
criteria, including cost. Thus, SITE demonstrations
must be concerned with both the engineering and
economic aspects of implementing a technology. Esti-
mating the range of each technology's implementation
cost is a critical aspect of the SITE Demonstration
Program. The goals of the SITE Program's cost
analysis are to:
Provide the public with both the developer's and
EPA's cost estimate based on well-defined and
appropriate operating scenarios.
Identify, highlight, and analyze those key operating
parameters which EPA feels are likely to have
significant impacts on cost.
Insure that the public has the ability, if necessary,
to reconstruct EPA's cost analysis, recalculating the
estimates by substituting assumptions more
consistent with their situation. This means that all
assumptions must be clearly stated and all equations
clearly presented.
An economic analysis for estimating the costs
(dollars per ton) is prepared for each completed SITE
demonstration. The SITE Applications Analysis
Report provides the results of this economic analysis
including information on the projected costs for
applying a specific treatment technology to a potential
Superfund removal or remedial action, and a more
comprehensive picture of the technology's potential for
Superfund applications.
An estimated range of potential costs is necessary to
compare the effectiveness of one technology with
-------
another. While cost alone will not be the sole criterion
for accepting or rejecting any technology, relative costs
will be critical. The most important part of the cost
estimating process is selecting those assumptions that
will serve as the basis for the final estimate. It is
essential that the basis for the cost estimates is clearly
stated. One approach to estimating implementation
costs, which include capital, operating, and maintenance
costs, would be to standardize each of the SITE cost
analyses around a typical cleanup scenario. However,
this is not possible due to the tremendous variability in
the size and composition of Superfund sites. No
economic analysis can hope to provide cost figures that
take into account all of the operating parameters that
ultimately impact cost, but good economic analysis
insures that those assumptions that form the basis for
the estimate are explicitly and clearly stated.
Implementation costs are presented in a format that
offers a simple framework for presenting assumptions.
Costs are partitioned into categories, each reflecting
typical cleanup activities encountered on a Superfund
site. This forces key assumptions within each category
to be explicitly stated, particularly the variables that are
highly cost-sensitive. The ultimate goal is to provide
the reader with sufficient background information to
allow an independent reconstruction of the estimates.
Individual analysts can easily modify the assumptions
and tailor the economic analysis to fit their own unique
site and waste conditions. More important, readers will
be able to use the framework as a tool to enhance
technology comparisons.
The 12 cost categories presented below represent
costs within specific activity-related groups.
Site Preparation Costs - including site design and
layout, surveys and site investigations, legal
searches, access rights and roads, preparations for
support facilities, decontamination facilities, utility
connections, and auxiliary buildings.
Permitting and Regulatory Costs including
permit(s), system monitoring requirements, and
development of sampling and analytical protocols
and procedures.
Equipment Costs -- by subsystems, including all
major equipment items such as process equipment,
materials handling equipment, and residual handling
equipment. Also included are design considerations
such as equipment specifications, and throughput
and utilization rates.
Startup Costs -- including mobilization,
shakedown, testing, and initiation of environmental
monitoring programs.
Labor Costs -- including dollars, labor rates, and
level of effort for supervisory and administrative
staff, professional and technical staff, maintenance
personnel, and clerical support.
{Supplies and Consumable Cysts including
chemicals and other raw materials, maintenance
materials, and expendable material (listed with
quantities consumed).
Utilities - including electricity, fuel, process steam
and water, and compressed air (listed with quantities
consumed).
Effluent Treatment and Disposal Costs -- both
onsite and offsite facility costs, including air
treatment, wastewater disposal and monitoring
activities.
Residuals and Waste Shipping. Handling, and
Transport Costs -- including the preparation for
shipping and actual waste disposal charges.
Analytical Costs -- including laboratory analyses
for operations and environmental monitoring.
Facility Modification. Repair, and Replacement
Costs - including design adjustments, facility
modification, scheduled maintenance, and equipment
replacement.
Site Demobilization Costs including shutdown,
site cleanup and restoration, permanent storage
costs, and site security.
The grouping of related cost items into logical
categories facilitates the comparison of implementation
costs among different technologies. While these
categories encompass the typical operations associated
with Superfund cleanups, they may not be applicable to
all SITE technologies. Data regarding a given cost
category may be unavailable, unsubstantiated, or even
irrelevant. By focusing on these 12 specific categories,
the analyst must make a conscious effort to note the
n-5
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omission of data within any one category. Thus, the
reader will not be led to false conclusions and will be
able to make appropriate adjustments when conducting
relative cost comparisons.
The final step in estimating implementation costs
for a technology is to determine effects on cost resulting
from deviations from typical operating parameters. The
goal is not to provide a precise cost analysis for
each and every scenario, but rather to alert the
reader to those conditions that experience suggests are
likely to have a major impact (positive or negative) on
costs.
Cost estimates for technologies in the SITE
Program are discussed under each technology in the next
section. Details on the assumptions that were used in
preparing these cost estimates are provided in the
Applications Analysis Report published for the relevant
technology.
B. DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM
PROGRESS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS
The SITE Demonstration Program has now
completed its third year of demonstrating and evaluating
innovative alternative technologies that could be used to
remediate uncontrolled hazardous waste sites. The
major accomplishments of the SITE Demonstration
Program in FY 1989 include:
There are currently 38 technology developers,
including 12 accepted in FY 1989, actively
participating in the SITE Demonstration Program.
They represent a wide array of innovative
technologies, from thermal treatment and
bioremediation to soil washing, solvent extraction,
and in-situ stripping.
Since 1987, EPA has conducted 14 demonstrations,
including seven demonstrations completed in FY
1989.
During FY 1989 EPA published 12 reports on eight
of the demonstrated technologies.
At least 10 field demonstrations are in the planning
stages. These include in-situ bioremediation,
plasma heat vitrification, and in-situ steam
stripping.
The 38 technologies presently active in the SITE
Program represent five process categories. There are
currently seven thermal, five biological, nine
solidification/stabilization, four chemical, and thirteen
physical technologies in the program. The technologies
and their categories are listed in Exhibits II-2 through
II-6, along with a description of the status of the
demonstration project.
1. Thermal Treatment Technologies
Thermal technologies use energy to destroy or
decontaminate waste. These technologies can either use
relatively low amounts of energy (low temperature) or
high energy (high temperature) thermal processes. Low
temperature thermal processes physically separate
organic contamination from solid waste using elevated
(300 to 700°F) temperatures. Because of the low
temperatures, the organic contamination volatilized
from the solid waste is not oxidized. Instead, it is
burned in an afterburner or captured on a carbon bed.
Low temperature thermal processes are most effective
on soils contaminated with organic wastes having
relatively low boiling points. Low temperature thermal
treatment processes usually have lower operating costs
than other thermal technologies due to lower energy
requirements.
High temperature thermal treatment technologies
use combustion temperatures in excess of 1650°F to
destroy or detoxify hazardous wastes. Organic chemical
wastes are destroyed by the high temperatures. Provided
that the temperatures are high enough, any of the high
temperature thermal treatment devices can detoxify most
organic wastes. Solid wastes contaminated by metals
can, in some cases, be detoxified with high temperature
thermal treatment technologies. This occurs when the
solid waste is vitrified by the high temperatures and the
metals become entrapped in the glassified material.
The physical form of the waste is important in
some thermal processes. For example, the Shirco
Infrared Incinerator is designed to transport waste
through the combustion chamber on a conveyor belt.
As a result, it is limited to sludges and other
non-flowing solid wastes which will not fall off of the
conveyor belt.
The seven thermal technologies currently active in
the SITE Program differ in the source of the energy used
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to achieve the necessary temperatures. Four of these
processes achieve elevated temperatures through the
combustion of fossil fuels (flame combustion and
fluidized bed combustion). Of the three other thermal
technologies, two processes use electrical resistance
heating (infrared incineration), and the remaining
technology uses a non-ionizing plasma torch generated
by passing a gas through an electric field (plasma heat
system).
The thermal treatment technologies being
demonstrated under the SITE Program include four
different thermal processes: flame combustion, fluidized
bed combustion, infrared incineration, and plasma heat
system. These thermal processing methods and the
seven associated technologies are listed in Exhibit II-2
and are discussed below.
Flame Combustion
Flame combustion refers to combustion which takes
place in or as the result of a hydrocarbon flame.
Hydrocarbon flames result from the oxidation of
hydrocarbon fuels with air, oxygen, or oxygen-enriched
air. The advantage of the flame combustion process is
the short residence time which allows for high waste
throughput. The highly reactive environment of the
flame rapidly initiates the breakdown of waste
chemicals. Radiant heat transfer from the flame heats
and oxidizes wastes in other parts of the combustion
chamber. Hazardous wastes treated via flame
combustion are readily converted to carbon dioxide and
water. In flame combustion, temperatures vary
dramatically in different layers of the flame area
(oxidation zone). The process may only be able to
break down the surface layer of large particles passing
through the oxidation zone. Two of the seven thermal
processes in the SITE Program utilize flame
combustion.
American Combustion, Inc.
Technology Description. The PYRETRONR
oxygen-air-fuel burner, developed by American
Combustion, Inc., of Norcross, Georgia, uses
oxygen-enriched air to burn natural gas at higher
temperatures. Oxygen, in combination with air and
natural gas, is combusted in the PYRETRONR burner.
Heat released from the combustion is used to destroy
solid hazardous waste fed separately into the burner.
The PYRETRONR burner is designed to fit onto any
conventional combustion unit for burning liquids, soils,
and sludges. By replacing some of the combustion air
with oxygen, the PYRETRONR is more efficient.
Using less air is advantageous because the nitrogen in
air takes away heat, puts a greater load on the air
pollution control equipment, and requires a longer
retention time in the combustor before the waste is
fully incinerated. The higher temperatures also ensure
more complete incineration of the wastes, thereby
increasing the destruction and removal efficiency and
reducing stack gas emissions. The rate of waste
throughput is also increased, thus reducing unit costs.
Burner operation is computer controlled to
automatically adjust the amount of oxygen according to
sudden changes in key process parameters. Solid wastes
contaminated with hazardous organics are suitable for
the PYRETRONR technology. In general, the
technology is applicable to any waste that can be
incinerated.
Demonstration Status. The PYRETRONR was
demonstrated at EPA's Combustion Research Facility
(CRF) in Jefferson, Arkansas from November 1987 to
January 1988. The primary objective of the
demonstration was to compare the performance of
the PYRETRONR with a conventional air-based
incineration system. For this demonstration, the
conventional air burner of the CRF rotary kiln system
was substituted with the PYRETRONR oxygen burner.
Eight comparison tests were conducted using a mixture
of 60% decanter tank tar sludge from coking operations
(RCRA listed waste K087) and 40% contaminated soil
from the Stringfellow Acid Pit Superfund site in
California. Stringfellow is a Superfund site that was
used as a dump for industrial wastes from World War II
to the early 1980s. Soils on the site are contaminated
with waste acids containing organics and metals. Six
polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbon compounds were
selected as the principal organic hazardous constituents
(POHCs) for the test program-naphthalene,
acenaphthylene, fluorene, phenanthrene, anthracene, and
fluoranthene.
For the conventional system, the optimum feed rate
was 105 Ibs/hour. During testing of the
PYRETRONR, the mass charge size was maintained at
21 Ibs. However, the throughput rate was doubled over
air-only operation by reducing the charge interval from
12 to 6 minutes. This resulted in a throughput increase
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EXHIBIT 11-2. STATUS OF THERMAL TREATMENT
TECHNOLOGIES IN THE SITE PROGRAM
t.
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DEVELOPER
1. American
Combustion, Inc.
2. Horsehead Resources
Development Co., Inc.
Monaca, PA
3 American Toxic
Disposal, Inc.
Wilmette, IL
4. Ogden Environmental
Sen/ices, Inc.
San Diego, CA
5. Shirco Infrared
Systems, Inc.
Dallas, TX
6. Shirco Infrared
Systems, Inc.
Dallas TX
7. Retech, Inc.
Ukiah, CA
TECHNOLOGY
Pyretron Oxygen
Burner
Flame Reactor
Vaporization
Extraction System
Circulating-Bed
Combustor (CBC)
Electric Infrared
Incinerator
Electric Infrared
Incinerator
(Pilot-Scale)
Rasma Heat
LOCATION OF
DEMONSTRATION
Combustion Research
Facility (CRF)
(Region 6)
Horsehead Facility
Monaca, PA
(Region 3)
None identified
LaJolla, CA
(Region 9)
Peak Oil Superfund Site
Brandon, FL
(Region 4)
Rose Township
Demode Road Superfund
Site
Rose Township, Ml
(Region 5)
Montana Pole/ Silver Bow
Creek Superfund Sites
Butte, MT
(Region 8)
STATUS
The Technology Evaluation Report
was available in April 1989 and the
available in October 1989.
Efforts are underway to identify a
suitable demonstration site.
Waste will be brought onto the
Monaca site.
Efforts are underway to identify a
suitable demonstration site.
The demonstration was conducted
in March 1989 using a pilot-scale
CBC.
The Technology Evaluation Report
was available in September 1 988.
The Applications Analysis Report
published in June 1989 contained
the results of both the Peak Oil and
The Technology Evaluation Report
was available in Apni 1989
The demonstration is planned for
1990.
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Waste-Tech Services, Inc.
Golden, CO
Westinghouse Electric
Corporation
Madison, PA
New York State Department
of Environmental
Conservation
Albany, NY
Westinghouse Electric
Corporation
Madison, PA
Fluidized Bed
Combuster
(Fluidized Bed)
Electric Pyrolyzer
(Pyro lysis)
Plasma Arc
(Plasma System)
Pyroplasma System
(Plasma System)
None selected
Westinghouse Facility
Waltz Mill, PA
(Region 3)
Love Canal, NY
(Region 2)
Westinghouse Facility
Waltz Mill, PA
(Region 3)
Withdrew from the program in July 1 987 due to indemnifies ion issues.
Removed from the program on September 7, 1988. Status will remain unchanged
unless Westinghouse meets the following two conditions 1 ) successful completion of
DOE test and 2) demonstration of the readiness of the technology.
Withdrew from the program in May 1 988 due to contractual issues with the
developer
Removed from active participation on October 12, 1989 due to permitting problems
and difficulty in identifying a suitable waste for the unit.
n-s
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from 105 Ibs/hour to 210 Ibs/hour. Incinerator
operation was fully satisfactory under both modes of
operation. Performance remained satisfactory even
when the mass charge size was increased to 34 Ibs. The
results of the demonstration are summarized below:
The PYRETRONR burner achieved greater than
99.99% destruction and removal efficiencies (DRE)
of all POHCs measured in all test runs performed.
The PYRETRONR burner with oxygen enhance-
ment achieved double the waste throughput possible
with conventional incineration.
All paniculate emission levels in the scrubber
system discharge were significantly below the
hazardous waste incinerator performance standard of
180 mg/dscm at 7% oxygen.
Solid and liquid residues were contaminant free.
There were no significant differences in transient
carbon monoxide level emissions between air-only
incineration and PYRETRONR oxygen enhanced
operation.
Costs savings can be achieved in many situations.
Applications Analysis. The PYRETRONR system
can be used to treat any waste amenable to treatment by
conventional incineration, but it is not suitable for
processing RCRA heavy metal wastes or inorganic
wastes. The field evaluations conducted under the SITE
Demonstration Program yielded the following
conclusions:
The PYRETRONR burner system is a viable
technology for treating Superfund wastes.
The system is capable of doubling the capacity of a
conventional rotary kiln incinerator. This increase
is more significant for wastes with low heating
values. Throughput increases for wastes with
moderate heating value are also possible by use of
water injection to help dissipate heat. For wastes
with high heating value, throughput will eventually
be limited by the incinerator's ability to dissipate
heat.
In situations where paniculate carryover resulting
from excessive gas volume causes operational
problems, the PYRETRONR system may increase
reliability. The PYRETRONR system reduces
combustion gas volume by replacing some of the
combustion air with oxygen.
Use of the PYRETRONR can result in elevated
NOX emissions which should be monitored.
Because of the throughput increases, the
PYRETRONR system can make hazardous waste
incineration more economical in situations in which the
throughput increases are large, the operating and fuel
costs are high, and oxygen costs are relatively low.
Since the PYRETRONR is a burner system and
therefore only a part of an incineration system, the
capital costs associated with the PYRETRONR system
are expected to be small relative to the costs of the
entire incinerator. Operating and utility costs per ton of
waste processed are expected to be reduced most by use
of the PYRETRONR in situations in which throughput
increases are readily achievable. The economic analysis
showed a representative cost savings of approximately
$30 per ton. Savings will depend on site-specific
conditions, such as the heating value of the waste, the
scale of operation, and the location. Little additional
data exist beyond the SITE demonstration and tests at
EPA's Air and Energy Engineering Research Laboratory.
Horsehead Resources Development Co., Inc.
Technology Description. The Flame (slagging)
Reactor developed by Horsehead Resources
Development Co., Inc., of Monaca, Pennsylvania, is a
patented, hydrocarbon-fueled, flash smelting system that
can treat solids, soils, and sludges containing volatile
heavy metals. The reactor processes wastes with a very
hot (greater than 3632°F) reducing gas which
Moltan Slag Produced by Horsehead
Resources Development Co.'s Flash
Smelting System
n-9
-------
is produced from the combustion of solid or gaseous
hydrocarbon fuels in oxygen-enriched air. Typically,
the system is operated to produce a decontaminated
molten slag (a glasslike solid when cooled) and a
recyclable, heavy metal-enriched oxide. The overall
volume reduction achieved (of waste to slag) depends on
the chemical and physical properties of the waste.
Electric arc furnace dust, lead blast furnace slag, iron
residues, zinc plant leach residues and purification
residues, and brass mill dusts and fumes have been
successfully treated. Metal bearing wastes previously
treated contained zinc (up to 40%), lead (up to 10%),
cadmium (up to 3%), chromium (up to 3%), as well as
copper, cobalt, nickel, and arsenic. The Flame Reactor
demonstration plant at Monaca, Pennsylvania, has a
capacity of 1.5 to 3.0 tons/hour, and has been used
commercially to recover metals from electric arc furnace
dust.
Demonstration Status. EPA is working closely
with Horsehead Resources Development Co., Inc. to
identify a suitable demonstration site. Waste from a
Superfund site will be brought to the developer's facility
in Monaca, Pennsylvania, for testing.
Fluidized Bed Combustion
Fluidized bed combustors are used to incinerate
halogenated and nonhalogenated solids, sludges, slurries,
and liquids in a controlled atmosphere with surplus
oxygen levels. These systems are also used to destroy
polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and phenolic wastes
and to thermally decontaminate soils. In this process a
hot fluidized bed of inert granular material (usually sand)
is used to transfer heat to the waste streams to be
incinerated. Fluidization is achieved by passing heated
pressurized combustion air upward through the sand bed,
keeping the bed in suspension. In order to maintain the
solid waste in the fluidized mode, the waste needs to be
prescreened for size. Waste is normally injected within
or just above the bed. Combustion takes place as the
waste contacts the hot fluidized bed. Ash will normally
exit the fluid bed reactor airborne in the flue gas. The
advantages of the fluidized bed design are the relatively
low excess air requirements, good mixing between air
and fuel, and energy efficiency derived from the ability
to heat the fluidization air from the stack gas. This
process requires a long residence time and much lower
throughput than flame combustion. Fluidized beds
require frequent attention for maintenance and for
cleaning of the bed. Two of the seven thermal
processes in the SITE Program utilize fluidized bed
combustion.
American Toxic Disposal, Inc.
Technology Description. American Toxic
Disposal, Inc., of Wilmette, Illinois, has developed the
Vaporization Extraction System (VES), a
low-temperature fluidized bed method for removing
organic and volatile inorganic compounds from soils,
sediments, and sludges. Contaminated materials are
mixed with hot gas (at about 320°F) in a co-current,
stirred fluidized bed. Direct contact between the waste
material and the hot gas forces water and the
contaminants into the gas stream, which flows out of
the dryer to a gas treatment system. The gas treatment
system, consisting of a cyclone separator, baghouse,
venturi scrubber, plate scrubber, and chiller unit,
removes dust and organic vapors from the gas stream.
Treatment residuals consist of: (1) 96% to 98% of the
solid waste feed as clean, dry dust; (2) a small quantity
of pasty sludge containing organics; (3) a small quantity
of spent adsorbent carbon; (4) wastewater that may need
further treatment; and (5) small quantities of baghouse
and cyclone dust. The technology can remove volatile
and semivolatile organics, including PCBs, polynuclear
aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and pentachlorophenol
(PCP), volatile inorganics, and some pesticides from
soil, sludge, and sediment. In general, the process treats
waste containing less than 5% total organic
contaminants and 30% to 90% solids. Nonvolatile
inorganic contaminants (such as metals) in the waste
feed do not inhibit the process, but are not treated.
American Toxic Disposal's Transportable
Vaporization Extraction System
Demonftratien Status. The VES to be
demonstrated is a transportable, pilot-scale system on
five trailers, which treats about 8.5 tons of waste per
hour. The process has been previously tested on PCB
contaminated sediments. The mobile unit is fully
assembled and is currently located in Honey Creek,
Wisconsin. The developer will conduct shakedown/
II-10
-------
optimization tests using uncontaminated soil excavated
from a nearby site as part of system mobilization for
the SITE demonstration. The developer is seeking a
site containing organics-contaminated river or harbor
sediments, and a suitable demonstration site has not yet
been identified. PCBs are of particular interest, and
sandy soils may also be acceptable. The demonstration
test objectives are to evaluate feed handling,
decontamination of solids, and treatment of gases
generated by the process.
Ogden Environmental Services, Inc.
Technology Description. A Circulating Bed
Combustor (CBC), developed by Ogden Environmental
Services, Inc., of San Diego, California, destroys a
variety of waste materials at relatively low temperatures
(approximately 1600'F). The unit employs
simultaneous limestone injection, which neutralizes
acid gases and eliminates the need for a scrubber. Waste
material and limestone are fed into a combustion
chamber along with recirculating bed material from a
hot cyclone. The materials travel at a high speed
through the combustion chamber to the cyclone, where
solids are separated from the hot gases. The hot gases
pass through a convective cooler and baghouse filter
before being released to the atmosphere. The treated ash
is transported out of the system by an ash conveyor for
proper disposal. The unit may be used to recover heat
as steam or to produce electricity or hot water.
This technology may be applicable to hydrocarbon
wastes, soils and lagoons containing hazardous and
nonhazardous wastes, oily sludges, and munitions and
chemical agents. It may be capable of treating feedstock
contaminated with PCBs, PCPs, halogenated wastes,
chlorinated sludges, aniline still-bottoms, and oily and
solvents sludges, among others. It has also been
applied, during trial tests, to wastes such as carbon
tetrachloride, freon, malathion, trichloroethylene,
dichlorobenzene, aromatic nitrate, and PCBs. The CBC
technology developed by Ogden is one of only seven
incinerators permitted to burn PCBs in the U.S.
Demonstration Status. The demonstration was
conducted in March 1989 using a two million Btu/hour
pilot-scale CBC which processed approximately 5,500
Ibs of high-sulfur acidic petroleum refinery waste from
the McColl Superfund site in Fullerton, California.
The McColl site was used for the disposal of petroleum
refinery waste in the 1940s. Overall, the pilot-scale
unit performed reliably during the pilot test. Carbon
tetrachloride was used as the performance indicator, and
the CBC met the 99.99% DRE limit established by
RCRA for trial bums. Hydrochloric acid emissions and
flue gas particulates were well below the RCRA limits,
although further testing is needed to ensure compliance
of flue gas particulates with local ah* standards. No
significant concentrations of hazardous organics or
metals were detected in the flue gas. Carbon monoxide,
nitric oxides, and total hydrocarbon emissions were
within the facility permit conditions; however, sulfur
dioxide results were not quantifiable because of
malfunction of the measuring equipment. Lastly,
organics originally present in the waste feed were not
detected in the fly ash and bed ash streams, and PCBs,
dioxins, and furans also were not detected.
Infrared Incineration
Infrared incinerators use silicon carbide elements to
generate intense thermal radiation. Other thermal
processes use turbulent air flows. In this process,
materials to be treated pass through the combustion
chamber on a conveyor belt and are exposed to the
radiation. This reduces the amount of the ash in the air
stream since, without turbulent air flows, the ashes fall
from the belt to the ash collector. Wastes are limited to
sludges and other non-flowing solid organic wastes
which will not fall off the conveyor belt. Wastes
should be screened so that large particles do not interfere
with belt operation. Off-gases pass into a secondary
chamber (usually an afterburner) for further infrared
irradiation and increased retention time. Flue gases are
treated based on feed constituents and are emitted, as are
ash and any scrubber effluents. Infrared incineration
provides an airtight operation which allows the thermal
destruction of low-level radioactive materials. Two of
the seven thermal processes in the SITE Program utilize
infrared incineration-the pilot- and full-scale infrared
systems developed by Shirco Infrared Systems, Inc.
Shirco Infrared Systems, Inc.
Technology Description. The electric infrared
incineration technology, developed by Shirco Infrared
Systems, Inc., of Dallas, Texas, is a mobile thermal
processing system that uses electrically-powered
silicon-carbide rods to heat organic wastes to
combustion temperatures. Any remaining organics are
incinerated in an afterburner. Waste is fed into the
primary chamber on a wire-mesh conveyor belt and is
exposed to infrared radiant heat (up to 1850'F). A
gas-fired secondary combustion chamber destroys
gaseous volatiles from the primary furnace. Off-gas is
treated by an emission control system before being
11-11
-------
released to the atmosphere. The commercial unit is
transportable and allows for discontinuous operation.
This technology is suitable for soils or sediments
containing organic contaminants. Liquid organic wastes
can be treated after mixing with sand or soil.
Demonstration Status. Demonstration of the
electric furnace was carried out at full scale at the Peak
Oil Superfund site, Brandon, Florida, in August 1987.
As part of the removal operation by EPA, a nominal
100-ton per day Shirco Infrared System treated nearly
7,000 cubic yards of waste oil sludge containing PCBs
and lead. During the SITE demonstration, the system
was evaluated to determine its reliability of PCB
destruction and if the solubility of lead compounds
could be reduced. A second SITE demonstration of the
system, at pilot-scale, took place at the Rose Township
Demode Road Superfund site, Rose Township,
Michigan, in November 1987. The pilot-scale system
was evaluated for effectiveness in removing and
destroying organic contaminants and reducing the
mobility of metal contaminants under both standard and
varied operating conditions. The results of both
demonstrations were similar and are summarized below:
In both tests, at standard operating conditions, PCBs
were reduced to less than 1 ppm in the ash, with a
DRE greater than 99.99% (based on detection
limits).
In the pilot-scale demonstration, the RCRA standard
for paniculate emissions (180 mg/dscf) was
achieved. In the full-scale demonstration, however,
this standard was not met in all runs due to scrubber
inefficiencies.
The mobility of the lead was not reduced.
The pilot-scale unit demonstrated satisfactory
performance with high feed rate and reduced power
consumption when fuel oil was added to the waste
feed and the primary chamber temperature was
reduced.
Applications Analysis. In addition to the SITE
demonstrations at the Peak Oil and Demode Road sites,
information is available on the Shirco technology
performance from the pilot-scale tests and commercial
cleanups performed by 10 different organizations,
including two full-scale applications at Superfund sites
besides Peak Oil. These range from the conduct of
pilot-scale tests to obtain TSCA permits, to
incineration of thousands of tons of PCB-contaminated
soil. Recent commercial operations have experienced
on-line reliability factors from 24% to 61%. Inter-
mittent operations of commercial units over one to
three month periods have reported utilization factors up
to 90%. Data evaluated during the applications analysis
suggest that additional preprocessing may be needed to
meet suitable ranges for various waste characteristics.
The applications analysis is summarized below:
The infrared incineration process is capable of
meeting both RCRA and TSCA DRE requirements
for air emissions. Operations on waste feed
contaminated with PCBs have consistently met the
TSCA guidance level of 2 ppm in ash.
Improvements in the scrubber system resulted in
compliance with RCRA and TSCA paniculate
emission standards.
Based on recent commercial operations, projected
utilization factors range from 50% to 75%.
Economic analysis based on the demonstrations and
other field data suggest a cost range from $180/ton
to $240/ton of waste feed, excluding waste
excavation, feed preparation, and ash disposal costs.
Plasma System
Plasma heat processes decontaminate waste by
contacting it with a gas which has been energized into
its plasma state by an electrical discharge. The
electrical discharge is created across two oppositely
charged electrodes. Both electrodes can reside within the
plasma torch itself (a non-transferred torch), or one
electrode can be contained within the torch while the
waste can serve as the other (ground) electrode (a
transferred torch). Plasmas contain very high energy.
Waste organic chemicals injected directly into a plasma
plume are efficiently fragmented and converted to carbon
dioxide and water. Solid waste heated by plasma can be
vitrified. The advantages of vitrification over other
thermal processes are the lack of oxidation products and
large air emissions and the reduced leachability of
inorganic materials such as heavy metals. One of the
seven thermal processes in the SITE Program utilizes a
plasma heat system.
Retech, Inc.
Technology Description. Retech, Inc., of Ukiah,
California, has developed a thermal treatment centrifugal
reactor that uses plasma heat to treat soils and sludges
H-12
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contaminated with organics and metals. The solid
components are melted (vitrified) and cast or granulated
for disposal, while the volatile compounds are
decomposed by the heat generated by the plasma.
Liquid and solid wastes can be treated by this
technology.
Demonstration Status. EPA is conducting a
demonstration of Retech's pilot system in coordination
with the Department of Energy (DOE), Idaho National
Engineering Laboratory (INEL). Retech's pilot system
has been installed at the DOE (INEL) research facility in
Butte, Montana. Preparations are underway for testing
by both EPA and DOE. The unit will be tested on
waste from the Montana Pole and Silver Bow Creek
Superfund sites near Butte, which were contaminated
by mining and wood treating operations. The demon-
stration is planned for 1990.
Withdrawn Thermal Treatment Technologies
In July 1987, Waste-Tech Services, Inc., withdrew
its fluidized bed combustor from the SITE Program due
to liability issues. In May 1988, the New York State
Department of Environmental Conservation withdrew
its plasma arc technology from the SITE Program
because New York State cancelled its plans to develop
this technology for use at Love Canal. In September
1988, Westinghouse Electric Corporation was removed
from the SITE Program because their pyrolyzer
technology was not ready for a field demonstration. In
October 1989, Westinghouse Electric Corporation was
notified that their pyroplasma system was removed from
the SITE Program because of permitting problems and
difficulty in identifying a suitable waste for the unit.
2. Biological Treatment Technologies
Biological treatment processes use the enzymatic
activities of naturally occurring microorganisms,
bacteria and fungi, to transform or destroy hazardous
waste compounds found in liquids, sludges, or
contaminated soils. Compounds that could possibly be
treated in this manner include aliphatics, aromatics, and
chlorinated aromatic organic compounds. Bioremedia-
tion has been successfully demonstrated on aqueous
wastes and only recently has been tried on soils and
debris. Biological processes are sensitive to environ-
mental conditions, such as pH, temperature, oxygen
concentration, concentrations of nutrients necessary for
their growth, and concentrations of inhibitory levels of
certain heavy metals. These factors are altered in
order to optimize the biodegradation activities of the
microorganisms. Biological treatment of many
groundwater contaminants can significantly minimize
the treatment costs associated with the most common
treatment process for these materials-excavation,
transport, and incineration. Biological treatment offers
the potential of decomposing many hazardous wastes to
nontoxic substances resulting in a permanent solution
to the removal and disposal of such materials.
The biological treatment processes that are
presently being demonstrated under the SITE Program
involve aerobic biodegradation. The five biological
treatment technologies are listed in Exhibit II-3 and are
discussed below.
Aerobic Biodegradation
Aerobic biodegradation involves the treatment of
contaminated soil or sludge in a large mobile bioreactor.
An aqueous slurry is created and then is mechanically
agitated in a reactor vessel to keep the solids suspended
and maintain the appropriate environmental conditions.
Inorganic and organic nutrients, oxygen, and acid or
alkali for pH control may be added to maintain
optimum conditions. Microorganisms may be added
initially to seed the bioreactor or added continually to
maintain the correct concentration of biomass. Once
biodegradation of the contaminants is completed,
residual water may require further treatment prior to
disposal, and emissions may be released to the
atmosphere or treated prior to release. Some of the
advantages of using a bioreactor include:
Greater process management and control
Increased contact between microorganisms and
contaminants
Use of specific cultures or inoculum
Decreased acclimation times and faster biodegra-
dation rates.
One disadvantage is the additional excavation and
handling of the contaminated material that is often
required.
These processes can also be applied to contaminated
subsurface soil without excavation by directly applying
nutrients and oxygen into the contaminated soil. After
nutrients and oxygen (if required) are added, significant
reduction in contaminant concentrations may take quite
a while. In addition, the microorganisms are sensitive
II-13
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EXHIBIT 11-3. STATUS OF BIOLOGICAL TREATMENT
TECHNOLOGIES IN THE SITE PROGRAM
Aerobic
Biodegradation
DEVELOPER
8. BioTrol, Inc.
Chaste, MN
9. DETOX, Inc.
Dayton, OH
10. ECOVA
Corporation
Redmond, WA
11. MoTec, Inc.
(a division of
Remediation
Technologies, Inc )
12. Zimpro/Passavant, Inc.
Rothschild, Wl
TECHNOLOGY
Fixed-Film
Biodegradation
Fixed-Film Biological
Treatment
In-Situ
Bio remediation
Liquid-Solid
Contact Digestion
Powered Activated
Carbon Treatment
(PACT)
LOCATION OF
DEMONSTRATION
MacGillis &Gibbs
Superfund Site
(Region 5)
G & H Landfill
Utica, Ml
(Region 5)
Goose Farm Superfund
Site
Plumstead Township, NJ
(Region 2)
None selected
Syncon Resins
Superfund Site
Kearney, NJ
(Region 2)
STATUS
A pilot-scale unit was
demonstrated from July 24
A tentative site has been selected.
Sampling for the treatability tests
has been conducted. If the site is
acceptable, the demonstration will
be scheduled for summer 1 990.
A preliminary biotreatability study
was completed in July 1989.
Field sampling tor site
characterization and a treatabilily
study will be completed in
faiywinterigeg. The
demonstration is planned for
spring 1990.
A wood-preserving site is under
review for the demonstration.
A draft demonstration plan has
been completed. A three month
demonstration t$ scheduled for
early 1990.
1
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-------
to substrate conditions. Slight changes in those
conditions can reduce the degradation rate or kill the
microorganisms. Four of the five biological treatment
technologies in the SITE Program involve aerobic
biodegradation.
The biological treatment technologies in-
clude: (1) in-situ biodegradation in the soil without
excavation by directly supplying nutrients and oxygen
into the contaminated soil; (2) treatment of slurries of
soil and associated contaminant organic compounds that
adhere to the clay and fine particles of the soil in a
liquid-solid bioreactor tank; and (3) treatment of
contaminated groundwater or water from lagoons by
pumping the contaminated liquids through fixed-film
aerobic bioreactors. One of the processes involves
treatment of contaminated waters in an activated sludge
treatment plant which utilizes aerobic microorganisms
to break down organic contaminants in aqueous waste
streams. These microorganisms metabolize
biodegradable organics. The aeration process includes
pumping the waste to an aeration tank where the
biological treatment occurs. Following this, the stream
is sent to a clarifier where the liquid effluent (treated
aqueous waste) is separated from the sludge biomass.
Typically this process is used only for waste streams
where less than 1% of the total volume is
contaminants.
BioTrol, Inc.
Technology Description. BioTrol, Inc., of Chaska,
Minnesota, has developed a system for treatment of
toxic organics in wastewater streams, referred to as the
BioTrol Aqueous Treatment System (BATS). During
this process, contaminated water enters a tank where the
pH is adjusted and inorganic nutrients are added. The
water then flows to the reactor where the contaminants
are biodegraded. The microorganisms which perform
the degradation are immobilized in a three cell,
submerged fixed-film bioreactor. Each cell is filled with
a highly porous packing material to which the microbes
adhere. The degradation is accomplished primarily by
indigenous microorganisms; however, the system can
be amended with specific microorganisms with special
metabolic capabilities. For example, a bioreactor
treating a waste stream containing PCP~a compound
normally resistant to microbial degradationcan be
amended with an organism with specific capability to
degrade PCP. As the water flows through the
bioreactor, the contaminants are degraded completely to
carbon dioxide, water, and chloride ion.
BioTrol, Inc.'s Bioreactor Used to Treat
Wastewater
This technology is mainly applicable to aqueous
streams contaminated with organic compounds, such
as PCP and creosote (wood treatment compounds)
and other hydrocarbons. The technology can be used to
remove certain inorganic compounds (such as nitrates);
however, it cannot remove metals. Other poten-
tial target waste streams include chlorinated
hydrocarbons, coal tar residues, and organic pesticides.
The BATS is being evaluated for applicability to
underground storage tank contaminants, such as fuels
and solvents.
The system is primarily applicable to treatment of
groundwater, however, treatment of process and lagoon
waters has also been demonstrated. BioTrol has built a
mobile system with a nominal capacity of 5
gallons/minute. The bioreactor and all ancillary
equipment are mounted in an enclosed trailer.
Demonstration Status. From July 24 through
September 1, 1989, BioTrol, Inc., demonstrated a
pilot-scale biological treatment system for organics in
wastewater at the MacGillis & Gibbs Superfund site in
New Brighton, Minnesota, an operating wood treating
facility. The system was used to treat groundwater
principally contaminated with PCP at concentrations up
to 50 ppm.
During the six-week test, the unit operated 24
hours/day, seven days/week at a varied flow rate (1,3,
and 5 gallons/minute), for each two-week period. A
total of about 176,000 gallons of groundwater was
treated. EPA sampled influent, biomass, off-gases, and
effluent. The unit operated well during the test. Treated
water was discharged to the sewer under a local permit
after carbon treatment.
H-15
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DETOX, Inc. (Dayton)
Technology Description. DETOX, Inc., of Dayton,
Ohio, has developed a submerged fixed-film bioreactor
that biologically treats low concentrations of
biodegradable organic compounds in aqueous waste.
The DETOX system consists of an above ground
fixed-film reactor, supplemental nutrient storage tank
and pump, sump tank with pump, cartridge filter, and
an activated carbon filter. This technology is typically
used to treat groundwater and industrial process waters,
but is also applicable to lagoon and/or pond waters.
Some of the contaminants targeted by the technology
are benzene, toluene, xylene, alcohols, and ketones.
Demonstration Status. Treatability tests are being
conducted at the G&H Landfill Superfund site in Utica,
Michigan. The site contains groundwater contaminated
with low levels of organics, primarily xylene and
methylene chloride. If this site is selected, the
demonstration of the DETOX system is expected to
start in summer 1990.
ECOVA Corporation
Technology Description. ECOVA Corporation of
Redmond, Washington, has designed a bioremediation
technology to aerobically biodegrade chlorinated
solvents and nonchlorinated organic compounds. The
technology can be applied in two configurations: in-situ
biotreatment of soil and water, and onsite bioreactor
treatment of contaminated groundwater. The ECOVA
process adds oxygen and nutrients through a system of
wells and trenches to accelerate bioremediation.
Pumping and recharge wells circulate groundwater
through the zone of contamination, becoming in effect a
very large packed bed biological processing plant
similar to those used in above ground treatment. The
system pulls offsite groundwater back onsite until
offsite concentrations are below 100 ppb. Percolation
wells recharge water pumped from the recovery system
and treat suspected source areas onsite. The in-situ
bioremediation process involves enhancing the micro-
bial degradation of contaminants in subsurface soils and
groundwater without excavation of overlying soil. The
technology uses special strains of cultured bacteria and
microorganisms naturally occurring in onsite soils and
groundwater. The end products are carbon dioxide,
water, and bacterial biomass. Contaminated
groundwater can also be recovered and treated in an
above ground bioreactor. This process can be applied to
water, soil, sludge, sediment, and other types of
materials contaminated with organic compounds.
Demonstration Status. The demonstration is
planned for spring 1990 at the Goose Farm Superfund
site in Plumstead Township, New Jersey. Groundwater
at the site contains a wide range of toxic organic
compounds. During the demonstration, water,
nutrients, and microorganisms will be pumped into the
saturated zone through a recharge well to enhance
bioremediation below ground. Groundwater collected at
an extraction well downgradient of the contaminant
plume will be treated in the above ground reactor. Two
monitoring wells will be placed between the recharge
and the extraction well. Water samples collected from
the recovery well, the two monitoring wells, and the
bioreactor, will be analyzed to determine changes in
compound concentrations.
MoTec, Inc.
Technology Description. MoTec, Inc., a division
of Remediation Technologies, Inc., of Austin, Texas,
has developed a method of organic waste biodegradation
called the Liquid-Solid Contact Digestion process
(LSCD). An aqueous slurry is created and then is
mechanically agitated in a reactor vessel to keep the
solids suspended and maintain the appropriate
environmental conditions. Inorganic and organic
nutrients, oxygen, and acid or alkali for pH control may
be added to maintain optimum conditions. Micro-
organisms may be added to the bioreactor to
enhance the activity associated with the contaminated
soil. The supplemental cultures may be added
initially to seed the bioreactor or may be added
periodically if the microbes do not continue to grow in
the bioreactor.
During this process, sludges or soils contaminated
with organic compounds are first mixed with water and
emulsifiers. The waste then undergoes aerobic
biological treatment in a batch digester and is transferred
to a polishing cell for final treatment. Following the
completion of the process, the supernatant from the
polishing tank is recycled to the primary con-
tact tank, and the sludge is treated by soil tillage or
reactors onsite. This technology is applicable for
treating halogenated and nonhalogenated organic
compounds and some pesticides. However, it is not
suitable for treating wastes containing high levels of
inorganic contaminants unless a suitable pretreatment
step is included to remove the toxic levels of the metals
present.
Demonstration Status. A wood-preserving site is
currently under investigation for the demonstration.
H-16
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Zimpro/Passavant, Inc.
Technology Description. The process used by
Zimpro/Passavant, Inc., of Rothschild, Wisconsin, is a
variation of the activated sludge process. The modified
activated sludge process developed by Zimpro/
Passavant, Inc. combines a biological treatment
(activated sludge) with powdered activated carbon
treatment in one step called the PACTR process and wet
Zimpro/Passavant, Inc.'s Trailer-Mounted
PACTR Unit
air oxidation (WAO) of the waste sludges as the total
treatment of the contaminated aqueous waste. Enhance-
ment of the activated sludge treatment allows
Zimpro/Passavant's PACTR process to treat aqueous
waste streams which contain contaminants at higher
concentrations than 1% of the waste stream.
Demonstration Stqtus. A three-month
demonstration of Zimpro/Passavant's biological
treatment unit operating at 42,000 gallons/day at the
Syncon Resins Superfund site in Kearny, New Jersey,
is planned for early 1990. The process will treat about
500,000 gallons of groundwater at the site. The
contaminated groundwater contains volatile organic
compounds, including toluene and xylene, and some
semivolatile organic contaminants.
Withdrawn Biological Treatment
Technologies
Air Products and Chemicals, Inc., withdrew from
the SITE Program in September 1988, due to liability
and indemnification issues. In January 1989, DETOX
Industries, Inc., was removed from the SITE Program
because of their failure to perform laboratory treatability
tests.
3. Solidification/Stabilization Treatment
Technologies
Solidification/stabilization treatment processes
immobilize the toxic and hazardous constituents in the
waste. This can be done by changing the constituents
into immobile (insoluble) forms, binding them in an
immobile, insoluble matrix and/or binding them in a
matrix which minimizes the material surface exposed to
solvent leaching. Often the immobilized product has
structural strength sufficient to help protect itself from
future fracturing, thereby preventing increased leaching.
Most of the binding agents used in these processes are
proprietary.
Solidification/stabilization processes have two key
components: the chemical reactants and the mixing
equipment. The chemicals typically include portland
cement, lime, fly ash, clay, silicates, and a proprietary
chemical. The proprietary chemical is supposed to react
with the metals and organics to form insoluble
compounds and to prevent the organic constituents
from interfering with the pozzolanic (cement)
reactions. Effective mixing is required whether the
waste and the chemicals are mixed in-situ or above
ground in tanks, drums, or pits. Without thorough
mixing, the chemicals cannot immobilize the hazardous
constituents. The SITE demonstrations have included
an evaluation of the mixing on treatment effectiveness.
The solidification/stabilization treatment processes
being demonstrated under the SITE Program include:
cement-based fixation, pozzolanic-based fixation, and
vitrification. These processes and the nine associated
technologies are listed in Exhibit II-4 and are discussed
below.
Cement-Based Fixation
The cement-based fixation process treats sludges and
soils containing metal cations, radioactive wastes, and
solid organic wastes (i.e., plastics, resins, tars) by the
addition of large amounts of siliceous materials
combined with cement to form a dewatered stabilized,
solidified product. Soluble silicates are added to
accelerate hardening and contaminant contain-
ment. Larger amounts of dissolved sulfate salts or
metallic anions, such as arsenate and borates, will
hamper solidification. Organic matter, lignite, silt, or
clay in the wastes will increase setting time. Four of
the nine solidification/stabilization technologies in the
SITE Program involve cement-based fixation processes.
11-17
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EXHIBIT 11-4. STATUS OF SOLIDIFICATION /STABILIZATION
TREATMENT TECHNOLOGIES IN THE SITE PROGRAM
I*
i|
If
i*
.?
1 Vitrification]
DEVELOPER
13. Chemlix
Technologies, Inc.
Metairia, LA
14. International Waste
Technologies/Geo-
Con, Inc.
Wichita, KS
Corporation
Scottsdale, AZ
16. S.M.W. Seiko
Redwood City, CA
17. HAZCON, Inc.
Katy.TX
18. Separation and
Recovery Systems, Inc.
Irvine, CA
19. Soliditech. Inc.
Houston, TX
20. Waslech. Inc.
Oak Ridge, TN
21. Geosafe Corporation
Kirkland, WA
TECHNOLOGY
Chemical
Fixation/Stabilization
In-Silu Soil
Stabilization
Solidification
In-Situ Soil Mixing
Solidification/
Stabilization
Solidification/
Stabilization
Solidification/
Stabilization
Solidification/
Stabilization
In-S
-------
Chemfix Technologies, Inc.
Technology Description. Chemfix Technologies,
Inc., of Metairie, Louisiana, has developed a proprietary
process (CHEMFIX) that stabilizes high-molecular-
weight organic and inorganic constituents in waste
slurries. This fixation/stabilization process uses
proprietary reagent additives, such as soluble silicates
and silicate setting agents. The products of the process
are intended to be stable, friable materials with good
erosion resistance and low permeabilities. The process
is designed as a continuous operation capable of rapidly
Chemfix Technologies, Inc.'s
Solidification/Stabilization Process
treating (up to 100 tons/hour) large quantities of soils,
sludges, and wastewaters without creating a large
increase in volume of the treatment material. This
technology is suitable for base, neutral, or acid
extractable organics of high molecular weight, such as
refinery wastes, creosote, and wood-treating wastes.
After the contaminated material is excavated and
screened to remove pieces larger than one inch, a con-
veyor belt moves it from the feed hopper to the weight
feeder, where it is measured. The homogenizer mixes
the wastes with water to achieve the desired moisture
content. The wetted material then moves to a
Chemfix-designed pug mill, where it is blended with the
proprietary reagents. After the material is thoroughly
mixed, it is discharged and allowed to harden. The final
product is a solidified mass.
Demonstration Status. The demonstration was
conducted in March 1989 on waste from four areas of
the Portable Equipment Salvage Company (PESC) site
in Clackamas, Oregon. The PESC site operated as a
transformer and metals salvage facility from the early
1960s until 1985. Waste from the site contained
primarily lead, copper, and PCBs. The demonstration
involved evaluation of the full-scale processing unit
with a capacity of 100 tons/hour. The demonstration
included a long-term testing program designed to deter-
mine the effects of aging on the strength, acid neutral-
ization capacity, and leaching potential of the treated
wastes. The tests will be conducted every six months
for a period of five years following the demonstration.
Preliminary results from the demonstration indicate
that:
The Chemfix technology was effective in reducing
the concentrations of lead and copper in the extracts
from the Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure
(TCLP). The concentrations in the extracts from
the treated wastes were 94% to 99% less than those
from the untreated wastes. Total lead concen-
trations in the raw waste approached 14%.
The volume increase in the excavated waste material
as a result of treatment varied from 20% to 50%.
The results of the tests for durability were very
good. The treated wastes showed little or no weight
loss after 12 cycles of wetting and drying or
freezing and thawing.
The unconfined compressive strength (UCS) of the
wastes varied between 27 and 307 psi after 28 days.
Permeability decreased more than one order of
magnitude.
The air monitoring data suggest that there was no
significant volatilization of PCBs during the treat-
ment process.
It is anticipated that a single report, combining the
Technology Evaluation Report and the Applications
Analysis Report, will be available in spring 1990.
International Waste TechnologieslGeo-Con,
Inc.
Technology Description. International Waste
Technologies (IWT)/Geo-Con, Inc., of Wichita, Kansas,
developed the In-Situ Soil Stabilization System, which
immobilizes organic and inorganic compounds in wet or
dry soils, using reagents (additives) to produce a
cement-like mass. This process employs a proprietary
II-19
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binding agent for use with cement and a specific soil
mixing technology which precludes the need for soil
excavation. A hollow stem auger developed by
Geo-Con injects the chemicals into the soil. The auger
has both cutting and mixing blades with two internal
conduits which allow for injection of the additive slurry
and supplemental water. Additive injection is on the
downstroke, with further mixing upon auger withdrawal.
Treated soil columns are 36 inches in diameter and are
positioned to provide an overlapping pattern. The result
is a soil with a dense, homogeneous, low porosity,
structure. The IWT/Geo-Con technology can be applied
to soils, sediments, and sludge-pond bottoms
contaminated with organic compounds and metals. The
technology has been laboratory-tested on soils
containing PCBs, PCPs, refinery wastes, and
chlorinated and nitrated hydrocarbons.
Demonstration Status. During April 1988,
International Waste Technologies and Geo-Con, Inc.,
demonstrated their in-situ stabilization/solidification
process at the site of a General Electric Corporation
electric service shop in Hialeah, Florida. Approx-
imately 13,000 square feet of ground was
contaminated with PCBs and lead at this
site. Geo-Con's Deep Soil Mixing (DSM) System
was used to drill and blend waste material with IWT's
patented bonding agent. The major objectives of the
demonstration were to: (1) evaluate the ability of the
process to immobilize PCBs in the soil, (2) determine
the level of performance and reliability of the
mechanical equipment being used, (3) assess the
effectiveness of the process for land stabilization,
and (4) observe the integrity of the solidified soil
over a period of five years.
Two 10x20-foot test sectors contaminated with
PCBs and lead were treated to a depth of 18 feet. One
localized area also contained volatile organics and heavy
metals. The ratio of additive to soil was approximately
1 to 7. A single auger unit was tested during the
demonstration, although a four-auger unit is typically
used for remediation. Long-term monitoring tests were
performed on the treated sectors ten months after
completion of the demonstration. Results from the
SjtTE demonstration indicate that:
Based on TCLP leachate analysis, the process
appears to immobilize PCBs. However, because
PCBs did not leach from most of the untreated soil
samples, the immobilization of PCBs in the treated
soil could not be confirmed.
Sufficient data were not available to evaluate the
performance of the system with regard to metals or
other organic compounds.
The bulk density of the soil increased 21% after
treatment. This increased the volume of treated soil
by 8.5% and caused a small ground rise of one inch
per treated foot of soil.
The permeability of the treated soil was
satisfactory, decreasing by four orders of magnitude
compared to the untreated soil
The Geo-Con DSM equipment operated reliably.
Applications Analysis. The Applications Analysis
Report will be available in early 1990. The results are
summarized below:
Microstructural analyses of the treated soils
indicated a potential for long-term durability. High
UCSs and low permeabilities were recorded.
Data provided by IWT indicate some
immobilization of volatile and semivolatile
organics. However, this may be due to
organophilic clays present in the IWT reagent.
There are insufficient data to confirm this
immobilization.
Performance data are limited outside of the SITE
demonstration. The developer modifies the binding
agent for different wastes. Treatability studies
should be performed for specific wastes.
The process is economical: $194 per ton for the
1-auger machine used in the demonstration; $110
per ton for a commercial 4-auger operation.
Silicate Technology Corporation
Technology Description. Silicate Technology
Corporation (STC), of Scottsdale, Arizona, has
developed a method to stabilize metals and
high-molecular-weight organics in soils and sludges.
11-20
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This solidification/stabilization technology uses silicate
compounds and can be used as two separate
technologies-one that fixes and solidifies organics and
inorganics contained in contaminated soils and sludges,
and another that removes organics from contaminated
water. For soils and sludges, a proprietary reagent,
FMS silicate, selectively adsorbs organic contaminants
before the waste is mixed with a cement-like material to
form a high-strength, non-leaching cement block
(monolith). The process can use standard debris
screening and mixing equipment (such as cement
trucks). For water, the same reagent (FMS silicate) is
used in conjunction with granular activated carbon to
remove organics from groundwater. The resulting waste
material is then solidified by the first technology. The
Silicate Technology solidification/stabilization process
has already been used at hazardous waste sites.
According to Silicate Technology, their process may
be used to treat the following contaminants in unlimited
concentrations: metals, cyanides, fluorides, arsenates,
and ammonia, and other organics as well as higher
weight organics, such as halogenated, aromatic, and
aliphatic compounds.
Demonstration Status. After the two principal
responsible parties for the Tacoma Tar Pits site refused
to approve the use of this site, a new site was
tentatively selected in Fontana, California. The site
owner, Kaiser Steel Resources, has expressed an interest
in hosting a SITE demonstration of the STC combined
technology. A draft plan for collecting samples and
conducting treatability studies was prepared and samples
were collected in July 1989. A draft demonstration plan
has been prepared for the Kaiser site. The major
concern is the delay which may result if a RD&D
permit is required for this project. The demonstration is
planned for 1990.
S.M.W. Seiko, Inc.
Technology Description. S.M.W. Seiko, Inc., of
Redwood City, California, has developed the
Soil-Cement Mixing Wall (SMW) technique for in-situ
treatment of contaminated soil. The process uses
multi-axis, overlapping hollow-stem augers to inject
and blend treatment additives, such as solidification/
stabilization agents. The system can treat 90 to 140
cubic yards in-situ per eight-hour shift at depths of up
to 100 feet. Two to three augers, each up to three feet
in diameter, are mounted on a crawler-type base
machine. This technique has been used for more than
18 years on various construction applications including
cutoff walls and soil stabilization. This technology is
applicable to soils contaminated with metals and
semivolatile organic compounds.
S.M.W. Seiko, Inc.'s Soil-Cement
Mixing Augers
Demonstration Status. Several potential
demonstration sites have been identified and are under
review. For the demonstration, S.M.W. Seiko will use
commercially available solidification/stabilization
agents to treat contaminated soils, resulting in a
monolithic block down to the treatment depth.
Pozzolanic-Based Fixation
The pozzolanic-based fixation process treats sludges
and soils containing heavy metals, waste oils, solvents,
and low-level radioactive wastes, onsite by the addition
of large amounts of pozzolanic materials (fly ash, lime)
II-21
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combined with cement to form a dewatered stabilized,
solidified product. Materials, such as borates, sulfates,
and carbohydrates, interfere with the process. Four of
the nine solidification/stabilization techniques in the
SITE Program involve pozzolanic-based fixation
processes.
HAZCON, Inc.
Technology Description. The solidification/
stabilization process developed by HAZCON, Inc., of
Katy, Texas, mixes hazardous wastes, cement, water,
and a proprietary additive called Chloranan. This
treatment technology immobilizes the contaminants
from soils by binding them into a concrete-like,
leach-resistant mass. The unit consists of soil and
cement holding bins, a Chloranan feed tank, and a
blending auger to mix the waste and pozzolanic
materials (portland cement, fly ash, or kiln dust). Water
is added as necessary, and the resultant slurry is allowed
to harden before disposal.
The process utilizes a mobile field blending unit (10
cubic yards/hour). The unit is truck-mounted and
consists of a blending auger which mixes contaminated
soil or sludge, cement, binding agent, and water. Other
mixing units can also be used for large waste volumes.
This technology is suitable for soils and sludges
contaminated with organic compounds, heavy metals,
oil, and grease.
Demonstration Status. The HAZCON process was
demonstrated in October 1987 at the Douglassville
Superfund site (a former oil reprocessing plant), near
Reading, Pennsylvania. The contaminated soil wastes
at the Douglassville site came from six sources-one
each from two large lagoons once filled with waste oil
sludges and subsequently drained and backfilled with
soil; an oily filter cake disposal area; an oil
drum storage area; an oil reprocessing area; and a waste
land farm. Oil and grease levels varied from 1% to 25%.
Wastes contained volatile and semivolatile organics,
PCBs, and heavy metals. Cement was used at
approximately a 1:1 ratio with waste. Samples were
taken from the untreated waste, the blended
(treated) slurry after seven days of curing, and core
samples from the 28-day-old blocks. The samples were
analyzed for soil characteristics, leachability,
permeability, UCS, microstructure changes, and
contaminant levels. Long-term sampling of solidified
waste will be conducted for five years following the
demonstration.
Results of the SITE demonstration indicate the
following:
The physical characteristics of the treated wastes
were very good. The UCS of the solidified waste
ranged from about 220-1570 psi. Short-term dura-
bility test results were also very good, but the
microstructural analysis seemed to indicate possible
sample degradation in the future. Permeabilities of
the solidified waste were very low, in the range of
10-8 to 10'9 cm/sec (considered excellent). There
was a large increase in the volume of the solidified
waste to approximately double that of the waste
feed
Stabilization of metals in the waste was successful,
with reductions of metal leachate concentrations
greater than a factor of 100. Even with high
concentrations of organics that interfere with the
stabilization process, the metals were effectively
treated. According to test procedures, the solidified
mass was subjected to a grinding process prior to
leach tests; there was little change in leaching
concentrations of organics (volatile, semivolatile,
and oil and grease) before and after treatment.
Applications Analysis. The applications analysis
results are summarized below:
The HAZCON process can solidify contaminated
material with high concentrations (up to 25%) of
organics. However, organic contaminants,
including volatiles and base/neutral extractables,
were not immobilized to any significant extent.
Heavy metals are immobilized. In many instances,
leachate reductions were greater than 100 fold.
The physical properties of the treated waste exhibit
high UCSs, low permeabilities, and good
weathering properties.
Treated soils undergo volumetric increases.
The process is economical, with costs expected to
range between approximately $97 and $206 per ton
not including waste excavation and disposal of
solidified blocks.
Results from seven case studies other than the SITE
demonstration were presented in the Applications
Analysis Report.
11-22
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Separation and Recovery Systems, Inc.
Technology Description. Separation and Recovery
Systems, Inc., of Irvine, California, has developed a
limestone-based solidification/stabilization process. In
this process, sludge is removed from the waste pit and
mixed with lime in a separate blending pit. The
fixation reactions occur over a 20-minute period and are
exothermic. The temperature of the material in the
blending pit rises for a very brief time to around 414T,
and some steam is evolved. After 20 minutes, almost
all of the material has been fixed. The reactions are
completed over the next few days. The fixed material is
stored in a product pile until the waste pit has been
cleaned, and then the product is returned to the pit and
compacted. Permeabilities of the solidified waste are
expected to be low, around 10'10 cm/sec, and the
volume of the waste should only be increased by 30%.
This process uses conventional earth moving equipment
and is, therefore, highly mobile. This technology
should be applicable to acidic sludges containing at least
5% hydrocarbons. It should also stabilize waste
containing up to 80% organics.
Demonstration Status. EPA is working closely
with Separation and Recovery Systems to locate a
suitable site for the demonstration of this technology.
Soliditech, Inc.
Technology Description. Soliditech, Inc., of
Houston, Texas, has developed a solidification and
stabilization process to chemically and physically
immobilize hazardous constituents contained in slurries.
During the process, the proprietary reagent
URRICHEM is dispersed throughout the waste in order
Solidified Waste from Soliditech, Inc.'s
Solidification/Stabilization Process
to achieve complete blending of all ingredients (waste,
pozzolan, aqueous phase, and other additives). The
multiphase cementation process immobilizes hazardous
compounds by cross-linking organic and inorganic
particles, coating large particles, and sealing small pores
and spaces. This sealing process significantly reduces
leaching potential. The Soliditech technology is
suitable for treating soils and sludges contaminated with
organic compounds, metals, inorganic compounds, and
oil and grease.
Demonstration Status. The demonstration of the
Soliditech process was conducted in December 1988 at
the Imperial Oil Company/Champion Chemical
Company Superfund site, a former oil reclamation and
chemical processing facility in Morganville, New
Jersey. Three sources of waste were utilized at the
site-oil and grease contaminated soils, used filter-cake
material, and an oily sludge from an unused storage
tank. Two to six cubic yards of material from each of
the three sources were processed through Soliditech's
mobile mixing unit. Contaminants from the site
included PCBs, heavy metals, petroleum hydrocarbons,
and low levels of volatile organics. Evaluation of the
solidified waste will continue over the next three to five
years.
Samples were analyzed to determine a wide range of
physical and chemical characteristics-they were
subjected to several leaching tests, and evaluated for
strength and durability. Evaluation of the
demonstration results indicated the following:
Chemical analyses of extracts and leachates showed
that heavy metals present in the untreated waste
were immobilized.
The process solidified both solid and liquid wastes
with high organic content (up to 17%) as well as
oil and grease.
Physical test results of the solidified waste samples
showed: (1) UCSs ranged from 390 to 860 psi,
(2) very little weight loss after 12 cycles of wet/dry
and freeze/thaw durability tests, (3) low
permeability of the treated waste, and (4) increased
density after treatment.
The solidified waste increased in volume by an
average of 22%. The bulk density of the waste
material increased by approximately 35% due to
solidification.
n-23
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Semivolatile organic compounds (phenols) were
detected in the treated waste and the TCLP extracts
from the treated waste, but not in the untreated
waste or its TCLP extracts. The presence of these
compounds is believed to result from chemical
reactions in the waste treatment mixture.
Oil and grease content of the untreated waste
ranged form 2.8% to 17.3% (28,000 to 173,000
ppm). Oil and grease content of the TCLP extracts
of the solidified waste ranged from 2.4 to 12 ppm.
The pH of the solidified waste ranged from 11.7 to
12.0. The pH of the untreated wastes ranged from
3.4 to 7.9.
Visual observation of the solidified waste showed
dark inclusions approximately 1 mm in diameter.
Ongoing microstructural studies are expected to
confirm that these inclusions are encapsulated
wastes.
Wastech, Inc.
Technology Description. Wastech, Inc., of Oak
Ridge, Tennessee, has developed a solidification/
stabilization process that uses proprietary surfactants
(detergents) to segregate organic pollutants into micelles
before mixing the waste with proprietary bonding
agents and pozzolanic and cementatious material. This
technology can be applied to soil, sludge, and liquid
wastes containing inorganic and volatile or semivola-
tile organic contaminants. Organics present in
low-level radioactive waste may also be effectively
treated to facilitate disposal. The materials handling
system consists of standard equipment, such as a pug
mill mixer cement truck, a cement batcher, and a
cement pump. The treated material is monolithic and
can be solidified into blocks or cured as a single
monolith.
Demonstration Status. EPA is in the process of
selecting a site for the Wastech technology demon-
stration. Efforts are also directed at locating
several sites from which suitable treatability samples
could be obtained. Treatability studies are currently
underway on two wastes--an oily waste and a wood
preserving waste. A third study is proposed for a mixed
waste.
Vitrification
Vitrification is a process that uses very high
temperatures to convert hazardous wastes into a
glassy substance. The process is carried out by
inserting large electrodes into contaminated soils
containing significant levels of silicates. Graphite
on the surface connects the electrodes to the soil. A
high current of electricity passes through the electrodes
and graphite. The heat causes a melt that gradually
works downward through the soil. Some contaminant
organics are volatilized and escape from the soil surface
and must be collected by a vacuum system. Inorganics
and some organics are trapped in the melt, which as it
cools, becomes a form of obsidian or very strong glass.
When the melt is cooled, it forms a stable noncrys-
talline solid. One of the nine solidification/stabilization
technologies in the SITE Program is a vitrification
process.
Geosafe Corporation
Technology Description. Geosafe Corporation, of
Kirkland, Washington, will demonstrate a
technology developed by Battelle Pacific Northwest
Laboratory. The technology is an in-situ vitrification
(ISV) process that destroys organic pollutants in
soils and sludges by pyrolysis and inorganic
pollutants are immobilized within the vitrified mass.
Both the airborne organic and inorganic combustion
byproducts are collected in a negatively pressurized
hood which draws the contaminants into an off-gas
treatment system that removes particulates and other
pollutants of concern. The basic configuration of the
ISV process consists of an electrical network with four
electrodes driven/pushed into or placed in drilled holes in
the soil or sludge, a capture hood to collect fumes or
gases from the setting and direct it to an off-gas
treatment system, and the off-gas treatment system
itself.
Demonstration Status. This process has been
demonstrated at full-scale on radioactive wastes at the
Department of Energy's Hanford Nuclear Reservation.
Pilot tests have been performed on PCB wastes,
industrial lime sludge, dioxins, metal plating wastes,
and other solid combustibles and liquid chemicals. EPA
is working closely with Geosafe to identify a suitable
demonstration site.
11-24
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Withdrawn Solidification/Stabilization
Treatment Technologies
In October 1988, Waste Chem Corporation
withdrew from the SITE Program due to its inability to
compete economically with other available
technologies.
4. Chemical Treatment Technologies
Chemical treatment processes are those in which a
chemical reaction is used to alter or destroy a hazardous
waste component. The hazardous waste molecule may
be slightly changed by the chemical reaction, so dial it
is less toxic or more amenable to other treatment
techniques, or it may be completely destroyed and
rendered harmless. Chemical treatment techniques are
applicable to both organic and inorganic wastes, and
may be formulated to address specific target compounds
in a mixed waste. Some heating and physical energy
requirements may be necessary to support the chemical
reactions, but the reactions themselves are responsible
for the treatment as opposed to thermal processes which
provide for destruction of organic molecules solely by
addition of heat. One limiting factor is that impurities
and mixed waste components may interfere with the
process chemical reaction and impact the treatment
efficiency or produce hazardous byproducts.
The four chemical treatment technologies being
demonstrated under the SITE Program are listed in
Exhibit n-5 and are discussed below.
Oxidation-Reduction
The chemical oxidation-reduction process is
employed to destroy hazardous components or convert
the hazardous components of the waste stream to less
hazardous forms. The process is based on
oxidation-reduction reactions between the waste
components and added reactants in which the oxidation
state of one reactant is raised while that of another is
lowered. This chemical treatment process consists of
initial pH adjustment, addition of reagents, mixing, and
treatment to remove or precipitate the reduced or
oxidized products. The applicable oxidation processes
include hydrogen peroxide oxidation, ozonation, alkaline
chlorination, hypochlorite chlorination, electrolytic
oxidation, and chemical dechlorination. This process is
applicable to liquids and sludges containing organic and
inorganic compounds. The composition of the waste
must be known to prevent the inadvertent production of
a more toxic or more hazardous end product. All four of
the chemical treatment technologies in the SITE
Program are oxidation-reduction processes.
EXXON Chemical Company/Rio Linda
Chemical Company, Inc.
Technology Description. EXXON Chemical
Company of Long Beach, California, in cooperation
with Rio Linda Chemical Company, Inc., of
Sacramento, California, has developed a chemical
oxidation technique that uses chlorine dioxide to oxidize
organic pollutants in aqueous streams to non-toxic
organic acids and salts. The system generates the
chlorine dioxide, at least 95% pure, onsite to minimize
the hazards associated with its transportation and storage.
The chlorine dioxide reagent is described by the
developer as an aggressive oxidizer that does not form
chlorinated compounds. Wastes that may be treated by
this technology include bacteria, many simple organics,
and pesticides in aqueous solutions. Systems
processing up to 250 gallons/minute are used
commercially in the petroleum industry to destroy
organic pollutants and biomass in wastewater.
Demonstration Status. Efforts to identify a
demonstration site are underway. The demonstration
requires an aqueous waste containing organics other than
chlorinated aliphatics.
EXXON Chemical Company/Rio Linda
Chemical Company, Inc.
Technology Description. In a second project,
EXXON Chemical Company and Rio Linda Chemical
Company, Inc., will use chlorine dioxide to oxidize
simple and complex cyanide pollutants found in aqueous
waste, sludge, and soil to chloride and cyanate ions.
The process has been used to treat wastes with cyanide
concentrations of up to 500 ppm.
Demonstration Status. Efforts are underway to
identify a demonstration site. This second project will
be a separate demonstration using the same process
described above, but will concentrate on destruction of
simple and complex cyanides. A site contaminated with
cyanides is needed for the demonstration.
n-25
-------
EXHIBIT 11-5. STATUS OF CHEMICAL TREATMENT
TECHNOLOGIES IN THE SITE PROGRAM
eduction
Oxidation-fl
DEVELOPER
22. EXXON Chemical
Company/
Rio Linda Chemical
Company, Inc.
«~Jt22&J2£S£t^~££~.
23- EXXON Chemical
Company/
Rio Linda Chemical
Company, Inc.
Long Beach, CA
24- QUAD Environmental
Technologies
Corporation
Northbrook, IL
25. Ultrox International,
Inc.
Santa Ana, CA
TECHNOLOGY
Chemical Oxidation
ofOrganlcs
Chemical Oxidation
of Cyanide
Chemical Scrubbing
System
Ultraviolet Radiation
and Ozone
Treatment
LOCATION OF
DEMONSTRATION
None Identified
None Identified
None Identified
Lorentz Barrel and Drum
Superfund Site
San Jose, CA
(Region 9)
STATUS
Efforts to Identify a demonstration
site are underway.
Efforts to Identify a demonstration
site are underway.
Efforts to identify a demonstration
site are underway
The demonstration was conducted
between Feburary 1 7 and March
10,1989. The Technology
Evaluation Report and the
Applications Analysis Report will be
available In spring 1990.
*/
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n-26
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QUAD Environmental Technologies
Corporation
Technology Description. QUAD Environmental
Technologies Corporation, of Northbrook, Illinois, has
developed QUAD Chemtact, a patented technology
used to treat contaminants, such as organics, in gaseous
waste streams through efficient gas-liquid contacting. It
is based on generating droplets of controlled chemical
solution (sodium hypochlorite) with a gaseous waste
stream. The system has been used for over 14 years in
various municipal and industrial applications for wastes
contaminated with hydrogen sulfide and various
organics. Two mobile units are used--a two-stage 800
cubic feet/minute system and a one-stage 2,500 cubic
feet/minute system. This technology can be used on
gaseous waste streams containing a wide variety of
organic or inorganic contaminants, but is best suited for
volatile organic compounds.
Demonstration Status. Efforts are underway to
identify a site containing organics emitted in the air
stream. The technology will be demonstrated in
conjunction with a treatment process, such as vacuum
extraction or air stripping, that creates a contaminated
gaseous exhaust.
Ultrox International, Inc.
Technology Description. Ultrox International, Inc.,
of Santa Ana, California, has developed its Ultraviolet
Radiation and Oxidation System to oxidize organic
compounds found in groundwater. The ULTROXR
process uses a combination of ultraviolet light
radiation, ozone, and hydrogen peroxide to oxidize
organic compounds in water. The final products of the
reaction are salts, water, carbon dioxide, and possibly
some organic degradation products. The reactor is the
center of the process, where UV radiation and oxidants
are brought into close contact with contaminated water.
The approximate UV intensity, ozone, and hydrogen
peroxide doses are determined from pilot-scale studies.
The high reaction rate and treatment efficiency are
attributed to the direct photolysis of certain organics by
the UV light and the generation of hydroxyl radicals
which have a high oxidation potential. The system has
been developed and used to destroy explosives,
pesticides, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), PCBs,
and other organic compounds in wastewater and
groundwater.
The treatment system includes four skid-mounted
modules~UV radiation/oxidation reactor module, ozone
generator module, hydrogen peroxide feed system, and
catalytic ozone decomposer (Decompozon) unit for
treating reactor off-gas.
Top Pilot Plant View of Ultrox
International, Inc.'s Ultraviolet
Radiation and Oxidation System
Demonstration Statux. The demonstration of the
ULTROXR process was conducted at the Lorentz
Barrel and Drum Superfund site in San Jose,
California, over a two-week period in February and
March 1989. Approximately 13,000 gallons of
groundwater contaminated with VOCs from the site
were treated in the ULTROXR system by the
commercial-size reactor during 13 test runs. During the
first 11 runs, five operating parameters were adjusted to
evaluate the system: hydraulic retention time, oxidant
dose, hydrogen peroxide dose, UV lamp intensity, and
influent pH level. The last two runs were conducted to
verify the reproducibility of the system's performance,
with the system operating at the optimal conditions
determined from the first 11 runs.
Out of 44 VOC samples, three were chosen to be
used as indicator parameters. The results of the SITE
demonstration are summarized below:
Removal efficiencies for trichloroethylene (TCE)
were about 99%. Removal efficiencies for 1,1
11-27
-------
dichloroethane (1,1-DCA) and 1,1,1-trichloroethane
(1,1,1-TCA) were about 58% and 85%, respectively.
Removal efficiencies for total VOCs were about
For some compounds, removal from the water phase
was due to both chemical oxidation and stripping.
Stripping accounted for 12% to 75% of the total
removal for 1,1,1-TCA and 5% to 44% for
1,1-DCA. Stripping was less than 10% for TCE
and vinyl chloride, and was negligible for other
VOCs present.
The Decompozon unit reduced ozone to less than
0.1 ppm (OSHA standards), with efficiencies greater
than 99.99%. VOCs present in the air within the
treatment system, at approximately 0.1 to 0.5 ppm,
were not detected after passing through the
Decompozon unit
Very low total organic carbon removal was found,
implying that partial oxidation of organics occurred
with complete conversion to carbon dioxide and
water.
5. Physical Treatment Technologies
Physical treatment processes separate the waste
stream by either applying physical force or changing the
physical form of the waste. Various physical processes,
such as adsorption, distillation, or filtration, can be
utilized to separate waste streams. Physical treatment is
applicable to a wide variety of liquid and solid wastes,
but further treatment, such as incineration, is usually
required. Some of the resulting residues can be recycled.
The physical treatment processes to be demonstrated
under the SITE Program include: evaporation and steam
stripping, filtration, freezing crystallization, and solvent
extraction. These processes and the 13 associated
technologies are listed in Exhibit II-6 and are discussed
below.
Evaporation and Steam Stripping
Evaporation is the physical separation of a liquid
from a dissolved or suspended solid by the application
of energy to volatilize the liquid. Volatile organic
compounds can be removed from a contaminated area by
phase changes. This can be achieved by speeding the
vaporization process which releases the volatile
compounds into the carrier gas stream for removal and
detoxification. Since vaporization is the function of the
partial pressure of these volatile compounds, the speed
of vaporization can be increased by raising the
temperature (hot air or steam injection) or reducing the
atmospheric pressure (vacuum extraction). In hazardous
waste treatment, evaporation may be used to isolate the
hazardous material in one of the two phases,
simplifying subsequent treatment.
The operation of steam stripping uses steam to
evaporate volatile organics from aqueous wastes. Steam
stripping is essentially a continuous fractional
distillation process carried out in a packed or tray tower.
Clean steam provides direct heat to the column in which
gas flows from the bottom to the top of the tower. The
resultant residuals are contaminated steam condensate,
recovered solvent, and stripped effluent. Since steam
stripping is a totally enclosed system, there are no air
contaminants released to the atmosphere. Five of the
13 physical treatment technologies in the SITE
Program involve evaporation and steam stripping
processes.
AWD Technologies, Inc.
Technology Description. AWD Technologies, Inc.,
of San Francisco, California, uses an integrated in-situ
vapor extraction and steam stripping process to remove
VOCs from contaminated soil and groundwater. The
system combines the AquaDetox steam stripping tower,
developed and patented by the Dow Chemical Company,
to separate organics from water, and an in-situ soil vapor
extraction/reinjection process (SVE System) developed
by Woodward-Clyde Consultants. The two processes
form a closed-loop system that provides simultaneous
in-situ remediation of contaminated groundwater and
soil with no air emissions.
The AquaDetox system strips VOCs from feedwater
(such as extracted groundwater) with steam under
vacuum. The steam-organic vapors are condensed, and
the resulting aqueous and organic phases are separated
for reuse or disposal.
The SVE process applies a vacuum to
VOC-contaminated soil, thereby inducing a flow of air
through the soil and removing vapor phase VOCs with
the extracted soil gas. The soil gas is then treated by
the AquaDetox system. A granulated activated carbon
(GAC) unit treats noncondensable vapor from both the
11-28
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EXHIBIT 11-6. STATUS OF PHYSICAL TREATMENT
TECHNOLOGIES IN THE SITE PROGRAM
??
c ff
§'*
UJ (A
Filtration
Freeze
[Crystallization
Solvent
Extraction
DEVELOPER
26. AWD Technologies,
Inc.
San Francisco, CA
27. Chemical Waste
Management, Inc.
Riverdale. IL
28. Solvent Services, Inc.
San Jose, CA
29. Terra Vac, Inc.
Dorado, PR
30. Toxic Treatments
(USA), Inc.
San Mateo, CA
31. El. DuPontde
Nemours, Inc.,
Newark, DE
Oberlin Filter Co.
Waukesha, Wl
32. EPOC Water, Inc.
Fresno, CA
33. Freeze Technologies
Corporation
Raleigh, NC
34. BioTrol, Inc.
Chaska, MN
35. C.F. Systems
Corporation
Waltham, MA
36. Dohydro-Tech
Corporation
East Hanover, NJ
37. Excahber Enterprises,
Inc. (formerly Ozonics
Recycling Corporation )
Key Biscayne, FL
38. Resources
Conservation Co.
Bellevue, WA
TECHNOLOGY
In-Siu Vapor
Extraction
Rotary Thermal
Desorber
In-Siu Steam
Injection and
Vacuum Extraction
In-Siu Vacuum
Extraction
In-Siu Steam/ Air
Stripping
Microfirtration
Leaching and
Microfiltration
Physical Separation/
Concentration
Soil Washing
Solvent Extraction
Carver-Greenfield
Extraction Process
Soil Washino/UV
Oxidation with
Ozone
Solvent Extraction
LOCATION OF
DEMONSTRATION
San Fernando Valley
Super! und Site
Burbank, CA
(Region 9)
Kettleman Hills, CA site
(Region 9)
Solvent Services, Inc.
Super! und Site
San Jose, CA
(Region 9)
Valley Manufacturing
Groveland Wells
Super! und Site
Groveland, MA
(Region 1)
Annex Terminal Site
San Pedro, CA
(Region 9)
Palmerton Zinc
Superfund Site
Palmerton, PA
(Region 3)
None identified
Strmgfellow Superfund Site
Glen Avon, CA
(Region 9)
MacGille iGibbs
Superiund Site
New Brighton, MN
.(.R.e.flion.5.1
New Bedford Harbor
New Bedford Harbor, MA
(Region 1)
None identified
None identilied
None selected
STATUS
The full-scale system has been in
operation as part of the cleanup of
this site since September 1988. The
demonstration is planned for spring
1990.
A TSCA permit application has
been submitted to the Office of
Toxic Substances. The
demonstration is planned for
spring 1990.
The six-month demonstration is
planned for 1990.
The Technology Evaluation Report
was published 'm April 1989. The
Applications Analysis Report was
published in July 1969.
A full-scale prototype was
demonstrated in September 1989.
Preliminary test data should be
available in spring 1990.
The demonstration plan is
completed. The demonstration is
planned for early 1990.
This technology was accepted into
the SITE Program in October 1989.
The demonstration of a mobile
pilot system is planned for spring
1990.
The demonstration was conducted
from September 24 through
October 2, 1989.
The Technology Evaluation Report
will be available in early 1990.
Efforts to identify a demonstration
site are underway.
Efforts to identify a demonstration
site are underway.
Two remedial action sites with
PCB-contammated soil are under
consideration. Treatability studies
have been conducted at one site.
/
*/
'/
r
'(
r
-------
AquaDetox and SVE Systems. The GAC is regenerated
by steam. Water treated by GAC is reinjected into the
ground to enhance VOC removal by the SVE System.
Residuals generated by the system are a free-phase
recyclable product, nonregenerable granular activated
carbon, and treated water.
DOW Chemical Company's AquaDetox
Steam Stripping Tower
Demonstration Status. Lockheed Aeronautical
Systems has been using the full-scale system since
September 1988 as part of the cleanup of the San
Fernando Valley Superfund site, Area I, in Burbank,
California. Groundwater and soil at the site are
contaminated with VOCs, principally trichloroethylene
and perchloroethylene. The SVE System is extracting
300 cubic feet per minute of soil gas that has a total
VOC concentration of 6,000 ppm. The AquaDetox
system is removing and treating 1,000 gallons of
groundwater per minute. The proposed SITE
demonstration, scheduled for spring 1990, will evaluate
the ongoing remediation effort at the San Fernando
Valley Superfund site in Burbank, California.
Chemical Waste Management, Inc.
Technology Description. Chemical Waste
Management, Inc. (CWM), of Riverdale, Illinois, has
developed a mobile thermal desorption system, called
X*TRAX that has been designed to treat waste
solids or sludges containing organics. The X*TRAX1M
system employs a process in which solids with organic
contamination are indirectly heated, driving off the water
and organic contaminants and producing a dry solid
containing trace amounts of organic residue. The
system consists of two parts-the dryer trailer and
off-gas trailer. The dryer is an indirectly-fired rotary
kiln. An inert nitrogen carrier gas is recirculated
through the kiln to transport the volatilized water and
organics to the off-gas handling system. In the off-gas
handling system, the volatilized materials are condensed
in a three-stage cooling and condensing train, removing
most of the water and most of the volatile and
semivolatile organics. The nitrogen is then passed
through a carbon adsorption system to remove the
remaining organics. The X*TRAX is designed to
treat soils contaminated with PCBs, but can be applied
to pond or process sludges and filter cakes contaminated
with up to 10% PCBs or other organic contaminants.
Treatment residues include treated soils, liquids and
sludges, and spent carbon. Some residues can be
recycled within the system.
Demonstration Status. CWM has conducted tests
on both laboratory- and pilot-scale systems. The
pilot-scale system has been operating at CWM's
Kettleman Hills, California hazardous waste facility
since July 1989, testing PCB-contaminated soils under
a TSCA R&D permit. EPA plans to conduct the SITE
demonstration at the Kettleman Hills facility in spring
1990. Current plans are to test three soils-two
contaminated with PCBs and one contaminated with
other organic chemicals. EPA's primary objectives for
the demonstration are to evaluate the performance of the
system in removing these contaminants from soils, and
to determine how contaminants removed from soil are
collected in the gas treatment trailer.
Solvent Services, Inc.
Technology Description. Solvent Services, Inc., of
San Jose, California, uses a Steam Injection and
Vacuum Extraction (SIVE) process for in-situ soil
remediation. Steam is forced through contaminated soil
via injection wells to thermally enhance the vacuum
II-30
-------
extraction process. Recovered gaseous contaminants are
either condensed and processed along with recovered
liquids or trapped on activated carbon filters. The SIVE
process is designed to treat soil contaminated with
volatile and semivolatile organic compounds in parts
per billion to percent level concentrations.
The treatment period is dependent upon the type and
physical properties of the soil, and the type,
distribution, and concentration of contaminants. Wastes
generated by this system are spent carbon and
contaminated water. Further treatment of recovered
liquids may be necessary.
Demonstration Status. A six-month test of this
technology is planned for 1990 at the Solvent Services,
Inc., site in San Jose, California. The 1.2-acre
demonstration site contains approximately 30,000 cubic
yards of soil contaminated with various volatile organic
substances, including acetone and toluene. The site
should be fully remediated by the end of the test period.
Evaluation of the technology's performance will be
based on sampling of the site at completion of the
demonstration, extensive pretest soil data, and systems
operating data.
Terra Vac, Inc.
Technology Description. This in-situ vacuum
extraction technology, developed by Terra Vac, Inc., of
Dorado, Puerto Rico, is a process for the removal and
venting of VOCs from the vadose or unsaturated zone of
soils. Often, these compounds can be removed from the
vadose zone before they have a chance to contaminate
groundwater. In using this technology, subsurface
organic contaminants are "vacuumed up" via a well,
vapor/liquid separated, and then exposed to activated
carbon before the "vapor" is allowed to be released into
the atmosphere.
The technology uses readily available components
such as extraction and monitoring well(s), manifold
piping, vapor/liquid separator, vacuum pump, and
emission control equipment, such as activated carbon
canisters. Once a contaminated area is completely
defined, an extraction well is installed and connected by
...../i;.,..;,! separator device. A vacuum
; contaminants through the
;, and an activated carbon
ream is discharged to the
vacuum and soil vapor
concentrations are monitored using vadose zone
monitoring wells.
Demonstration Status. From January to April
1988 the Terra Vac vacuum extraction process was used
to extract volatile contaminants from soils at the
Groveland Wells Superfund site in Groveland,
Massachusetts. In that area of the site, waste oils and
degreasing solvents have contaminated the subsurface
soils with VOCs (principally trichloroethylene) and
with lesser concentrations of 1,2-dichloroethane and
tetrachloroethylene. Most of the contamination occurs
beneath a concrete slab that is used as a storage platform
and above the water table.
Four extraction wells were employed to pump
contaminants to the process system. Four monitoring
wells were utilized to measure the impact of treatment
on site contamination. The demonstration test
objectives were to: (1) determine the ability of the
technology to remove VOCs from the vadose zone,
(2) assess the effectiveness of the technology in various
soil types, (3) correlate declining recovery rates with
time, and (4) correlate VOC concentrations in soils with
those in extracted vapors. The eight-week
demonstration produced the following results:
Approximately 1,300 Ibs of VOCs, mainly
trichloroethylene (TCE) were extracted from the
vadose zone.
The process removes VOCs from soils of low, as
well as high, permeability.
There was a steady decline in the VOC recovery rate
as a function of time of treatment.
There was a marked reduction in soil VOC
concentration in the test area.
Applications Analysis. The Terra Vac in-situ
vacuum extraction process has been used at over 60
waste sites for recovery of gasoline, carbon
tetrachloride, and TCE. The Applications Analysis
Report documents four case studies, including efforts at
three Superfund sites. As a result of the successful
SITE demonstration, Terra Vac was hired to remediate
the Groveland Wells Superfund site. Terra Vac has also
been selected for at least three other clean-
ups-Tinkham's Garage in Region I, Tyson's Dump in
Region III, and Verona Wells Field in Region V.
H-31
-------
The applications analysis results are summarized
below:
The major considerations in applying the tech-
nology are the contaminant compound's volatility,
site soil porosity, and the site-specific cleanup
level.
The process performed well in removing VOCs
from soil with measured permeability ranging
between 10-4 and 10~8 cm/sec. In practical terms,
the process works well with most soil types
including clays, and under most geological
conditions.
The air-filled porosity of a soil is an important
criteria to indicate whether vacuum extraction will
work. Soils with low permeability but with
adequate air-filled porosity are amenable to treat-
ment by this process. Soils with high water
content may require extensive dewatering before the
process begins to work.
Based on available data, typical treatment costs are
approximately $50 per ton. Costs can be as low as
$10 per ton at large sites not requiring off-gas or
wastewater treatment. Costs for small sites may
range as high as $150 per ton.
Toxic Treatments (VSA), Inc.
Technology Description. Toxic Treatments (USA),
Inc. (TTUSA), of San Mateo, California, has developed
the Detoxifier, an in-situ method of removing volatile
organics from soil using steam and heated air to strip
the contaminants. The transportable unit uses drills
that have been modified to allow for the expulsion of
steam and air through the cutting blades. First, the soil
is made permeable by the blades on the drills. Then
steam and air are injected to strip the organic
contaminants and carry them to the surface. A metal box
(called a shroud) covers the treatment area to trap
and transport the stripped volatiles to the treatment
trailer. The water and organics in the gases are
condensed, then separated and recovered.
The technology is applicable to organic
contaminants such as hydrocarbons and solvents with
sufficient partial pressure in the soil. The remediation
depth must be less than 27 feet, and the ground should
contain no obstacles larger than 14 inches in diameter.
Toxic Treatments (USA), Inc.'s In-Situ
Steam Extraction System
Demonstration Status. In September 1989, a
full-scale prototype of the in-situ Detoxifier was
demonstrated. The test was conducted at the Annex
Terminal site in San Pedro, California, a former storage
and transfer facility for bulk liquid chemicals. About
7,500 cubic yards of soil at the site are contaminated
with common industrial chemicals, chlorinated
solvents, plasticizers, adhesives, and paint additives.
Twelve soil blocks were treated for the demonstration.
The area treated at each shroud setting was about 7.5
feet x 4 feet. Depth of treatment for this site was 5
feet.
EPA monitored the treatment system's operation for
about one month of eight hours per day operation. The
system was online most of the time. In addition to soil
samples taken before and after treatment, EPA collected
samples of treated air and water, and the condensed
organics. A dye was also injected before treatment to
track any downward migration. If early results of EPA's
testing and additional testing by TTUSA are
satisfactory, the remainder of the site will be remediated
using this method. Preliminary test data should be
available in spring 1990.
Filtration
Filtration is a process of separating and removing
suspended solids from a liquid by passing the liquid
through a porous medium. The porous medium may be
a fibrous fabric (paper or cloth), a screen, or a bed of
granular material. The filter medium may be precoated
with a filtration aid, such as ground cellulose. Fluid
flow through the filter medium may be accomplished by
gravity, by inducing a partial vacuum or by exerting
pressure on one side of the medium. Filtration is used
11-32
-------
for the dewatering of sludges and slurries as a
pretreatment for other processes. This process is
suitable for organic or inorganic chemical sludges,
metals, and cyanides bound up in hydroxide sludges.
Two of the 13 physical treatment technologies in the
SITE Program involve filtration processes.
E.I. DuPont de Nemours, Inc.lOberlin Filter
Company
Technology Description. E.I. DuPont de Nemours,
Inc., of Newark, Delaware, has developed a
microfiltration process that removes heavy metals and
suspended solids from aqueous waste streams. In this
treatment, DuPont's Tyvek filter media is used in
combination with an automatic pressure filter provided
by the Oberlin Filter Company of Waukesha,
Wisconsin. The Tyvek material, in roll goods form,
provides for filtration down to 0.1 micron with
excellent chemical resistance and strength, while the
Oberlin filter produces a relatively dry filter cake and
allows unattended filtration capability. The mobile
system may be used to treat any aqueous waste that
contains hazardous solids or dissolved constituents that
can be induced to precipitate. Metal particles, metal
hydroxides and oxides, radioactive particulates, organic
solids, and cyanide wastes have been successfully
separated by the system.
Demonstration Status. Demonstration of a small
unit (2.4 square feet) is scheduled for early 1990 at the
Palmerton Zinc Superfund site in Palmerton,
Pennsylvania. Groundwater at the site is contaminated
with high concentrations of zinc and other heavy
metals.
EPOC Water, Inc.
Technology Description. EPOC Water, Inc., of
Fresno, California, has developed a process to
decontaminate soils and sludges by leaching and
microfiltration. This process can be used to
decontaminate sludges or soils containing heavy metals,
including barium, cadmium, chromium, lead,
molybdenum, mercury, nickel, selenium, silver, and
zinc. The process is relatively insensitive to metal
content, and can process solids with metal
concentrations of up to 10,000 mg/kg. In most
situations, leaching can be accomplished using low-cost
mineral acids or alkalis. In special circumstances,
chelating agents can also be used to remove a particular
metal. The leached slurry containing the solubilized
metals is separated from the other solids by a tubular
filter press. The resulting filtrate is chemically treated
to precipitate the heavy metals in hydroxide form.
Residual organic contamination in the precipitate can be
removed with activated carbon. Heavy metals in the
precipitate are separated and concentrated by
microfiltration, using an innovative and flexible woven
textile material that can separate particles as small as
0.1 micron.
Demgnftration Status. This technology was
accepted into the SITE Demonstration Program in
October 1989. The demonstration unit is transportable
and is designed to process approximately 30 Ibs/hour.
EPA is working with EPOC to identify a suitable
demonstration site.
Freeze Crystallization
Freeze crystallization is a physical separation
process used to remove pure components from solutions
by crystallizing the materials to be removed. When a
solution is partially frozen, a mixture of the ice crystals
and solution is formed. The ice crystals formed in this
situation essentially contain only pure water. These ice
crystals, when separated from the mother liquor (brine),
washed and melted, produce salt free water. The mother
liquor retains essentially all foreign elements originally
present and becomes concentrated as a result of water
removal. This process is suitable for dilute aqueous
organic and inorganic waste solutions usually
containing less than 10% total dissolved sob'ds.
Freeze crystallization has several advantages for
remediation and waste recovery applications. It is a
very efficient volume reduction process, producing a
concentrate that has no additional chemicals added to it.
If disposal in a hazardous waste landfill or incinerator
destruction is required, freeze crystallization can
substantially reduce the landfill or incineration costs.
When a large fraction of the solvent (usually water) is
removed from a waste, the remaining impurities often
begin to crystallize as well. They are often sufficiently
pure to have byproduct value for resale. One of the 13
physical treatment technologies in the SITE Program
involves freeze crystallization.
Freeze Technologies Corporation
Technology Description. Freeze Technologies
Corporation, of Raleigh, North Carolina, uses freeze
crystallization to separate organics and inorganics from
11-33
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heavily contaminated aqueous and liquid wastes. Cool-
ant is added to the waste to create an icy slush. The ice
crystals are then recovered and washed with pure water
to remove adhering brine contaminants. The difference
between this process and other freeze crystallization
processes is the freezing process. In the Freeze
Technologies process, the mixed waste liquid enters
through the feed heat exchange where it is cooled to
within a few degrees of its freezing temperature. The
cooled feed then enters the crystallizer where it is mixed
with boiling refrigerant. Water is crystallized in the
stirred solution, and is maintained at a uniform
concentration or ice fraction by continuous removal of a
slurry stream. Ice slurry from the crystal separator can
be washed and melted as any other freeze crystallization
process. Residuals generated by this process include
treated water and concentrated waste sludge, typically
10% of the original waste volume. This technology
will remove both organic and inorganic, and ionic and
non-ionic species from contaminated aqueous streams.
It works on both surface waters and groundwaters as
well as directly on process wastes and mixed wastes.
Demonstration Status. Treatability studies have
been completed. In spring 1990, Freeze Technologies
will demonstrate a mobile pilot system that will
process 5-10 gallons/minute at the Stringfellow
Superfund site in Glen Avon, California. The
groundwater at the site contains a wide variety of
organic and inorganic contaminants.
Solvent Extraction
soil contaminated with oil, PCP, and creosote from
wood-preserving sites. The system consists of a soil
washer, a slurry bioreactor, and the fixed-film bioreactor
used in the BioTrol Aqueous Treatment System. The
soil washer uses water in a multi-staged series of
intensive scrubbing to separate the heavily contaminated
fine fraction (silt, clay, and humic particles) of the soil
from the coarser, less contaminated sand fraction. All
process water used in the soil washer is treated in the
fixed-film bioreactor prior to discharge or recycle. The
soil washing system was operated successfully over a
two-year period at a wood treating site in Minnesota.
During this time, biological treatment of the process
water from soils washing was also successfully
demonstrated. In 1989, BioTrol, Inc., added slurry
biodegradation technology to treat the fine particle
sludge generated by washing of soils contaminated by
degradable, organic contaminants.
BioTrol, Inc.'s Mobile Soil Washing System
Solvent extraction is based on the solubility of the
hazardous chemicals in various solvents to perform the
physical separation process. When a waste stream
contacts with the particular solvent, hazardous materials
dissolve as solute and are removed from the waste
stream. After separating the solvent and solute from the
waste stream, further treatment can be performed to
detoxify these hazardous materials. This process is
suitable for aqueous waste streams contaminated with
single or multiple component dissolved organic wastes
and sludge contaminated with oils, toxic organics, and
heavy metals. Five of the 13 physical treatment
technologies in the SITE Program involve solvent
extraction processes.
BioTrol, Inc.
Technology Description. BioTrol, Inc., of Chaska,
Minnesota, has developed a soil washing system to treat
Demonstration Statitf. The SITE demonstration of
the BioTrol soil washing technology took place in
September and October 1989 at the MacGillis & Gibbs
Superfund site in New Brighton, Minnesota. A
pilot-scale unit with a treatment capacity of 500 to
1,000 Ibs/hour was demonstrated. For two days, the
soil washer processed 24,000 pounds of soil containing
about 300 ppm PCP, followed by a 7-day test on
46,000 pounds of soil containing about 1,000 ppm
PCP. The operation of the soil washer was continuous
(around the clock). EPA sampled all input and output
streams, and will analyze samples for PCP, PAHs,
chlorinated dioxins and furans, and certain metals.
During an 11-day test, process water from soil washing
was treated in the fixed-film bioreactor and recycled back
to soil washing. A small portion of the fine particle
slurry was treated by a prototype suspended solid
bioreactor developed by EIMCO Process Equip-
ment Company of Salt Lake City, Utah. During the
11-34
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two-week test about 180 gallons (200 pounds) of fine
particle slurry resulting from the soil washer test on the
highly contaminated soil was treated.
C.F. Systems Corporation
Technology Description. C.F.Systems Corporation,
of Waltham, Massachusetts, has developed a solvent
extraction process. The technology is unique as it uses
liquefied gases (propane or carbon dioxide) as solvents
to remove organic constituents, such as hydrocarbons
and oil and grease, from sludges, solids, and liquid
wastes. The system uses vapor recompression and
conventional distillation to recycle the solvents and
concentrate the organic constituents.
Contaminated material is fed into the top of the
extractor while liquefied gas flows upward through the
extractor, making non-reactive contact with the waste.
Clean material is removed from the bottom of the
extractor while the mixture of solvent and organic
contaminant moves from the extractor to the separator
through a pressure reducing valve. In the separator, the
solvent is vaporized and recycled, while the organic
contaminants are drawn off as a concentrate for further
treatment or disposal.
Demonstration Status. During the month of
September 1988, C.F. Systems' solvent extraction
technology was pilot tested on PCB-contaminated
harbor sediments from the New Bedford Harbor
Superfund site in Massachusetts. The major objective
of the demonstration was to evaluate the ability of the
extraction system to remove and concentrate PCBs from
the sediments.
Contaminated sediments were treated with C.F.
Systems' trailer-mounted Pit Cleanup Unit (PCU) that
has a design capacity of 1.5 gallons/minute or 20
barrels/day. During the demonstration, PCB
concentrations and residence times were varied for each
of four tests. Each test consisted of a number of passes,
or runs, through the pilot-scale unit. These data were
necessary for design of the full-scale unit. During the
30-day demonstration, 300 Ibs of harbor sediment
containing PCBs and heavy metals were treated.
Samples were taken at various points in the treatment
stream. Extraction efficiencies were high, despite some
operating difficulties during the tests. The use of
sediment as feed to the next pass caused
cross-contamination in the system. Full-scale
commercial systems are designed to eliminate the
problems associated with the pilot-scale design.
Applications Analysis. Commercial systems have
been sold to Clean Harbors, Braintree, Massachusetts,
for wastewater cleanup, and Ensco of Little Rock,
Arkansas, for incinerator pre-treatment. A full-scale
unit (200 barrels/day) is in operation at Star Enterprise,
Port Arthur, Texas, treating API separator sludge to
meet Best Demonstrated and Available Technology
(BOAT) standards for organics.
The applications analysis resulted in the following
conclusions:
Extraction efficiencies of 90-98% were achieved on
sediments containing between 350 and 2,575 ppm
PCBs. PCB concentrations were as low as 8 ppm
in the treated sediment
Operating problems at the New Bedford
demonstration included solids being retained in
the system hardware and foaming in receiving
tanks. The vendor identified corrective measures
that will be implemented in the full-scale
commercial unit.
Projected costs of applying the technology to a
full-scale cleanup effort could vary from $148 to
$448 per ton, including pre- and post-treatment
costs, materials handling, costs for specialized
process design, and the predicted onstream factor for
a full-scale unit.
Dehydro-Tech Corporation
Technology Description. The Carver-Greenfield
Process for extraction of oily waste, developed by
Dehydro-Tech Corporation, of East Hanover, New
Jersey, is a system that removes various oil-soluble
hazardous organic contaminants (hydrocarbons and
chlorinated hydrocarbons) from sludges, soils, and other
waste feeds by extraction into food-grade oil. The
process involves slurrying the waste feed material with
a recirculating, food-grade "carrier" oil; evaporating
water from the slurry in a high-efficiency evaporation
system; and separating the oil and feed in a centrifuge;
followed by a second slurrying and centrifuging step.
Recirculated oil is distilled to recover the organic
contaminants, and solids undergo a hydroextraction step
to remove residual oil. Treatment products from the
process include clean, dry solids; water virtually free
from solids and oils, which may require minimal
treatment for low-level organics; and a concentrated
mixture of the extracted oil-soluble compounds, which
may be incinerated or otherwise disposed. The
11-35
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Carver-Greenfield process can treat sludges, soils, and
other water-bearing wastes containing oil-soluble
hazardous compounds, including PCBs and dioxins.
The process has been commercially applied to
municipal petroleum tank bottoms, paper mill sludge,
municipal sewage sludge, and pharmaceutical plant
waste.
Deyhro-Tech Corporation's Mobile Oily
Waste Extraction Unit
Demonstration Status. The treatment system to be
tested is a pilot-scale mobile unit installed on one
40-foot trailer with a height of 8 feet. Capacity of this
system is about 50 Ibs/hr, and approximately 5,000 to
10,000 Ibs of feed material are needed for a two to three
week test. Efforts to identify a demonstration site are
underway.
Excaliber Enterprises, Inc. (formerly Ozonics
Recycling Corporation)
Technology Description. Excaliber Enterprises,
Inc., of Key Biscayne, Florida, has developed a soil
washing technology that combines enhanced soil
washing of both organics and inorganics with treatment
of the washwater with ozone oxidation catalyzed by
ultraviolet light and ultrasonic waves. Any metals
present in the rinsewater are removed with conventional
metals treatment. Ultrapure water, combined with a
biodegradable surfactant and ultrasound, is used as a
solvent in the washing process. Contaminated
rinsewater is pumped into the reactor chamber and
combined with ozone, which oxidizes contaminants to
carbon dioxide, water, and harmless salts. The use of
UV light and ultrasonic waves in (he reactor can reduce
the total organic carbon in the rinsewater three times
more rapidly than ozone alone. This technology may
be applied to soils, sludges, and liquids containing
metals and toxic organics, such as PCBs, PCP,
herbicides, and pesticides. Residuals of the process are
treated water, clean soil, and metals sludge.
Demonstration Status. The SITE demonstration
will test a transportable pilot system that treats 1-5 tons
of soil per day. The major objectives of the
demonstration are to determine the effectiveness of the
soil washing on organic and inorganic contaminants,
and the oxidation process on organics in the washwater.
The waste preferred for the demonstration is soil
contaminated with PCBs or PCP, and combined with
metals (such as chrome, copper, arsenic). About 50
tons of soil are needed for a one-month demonstration.
Efforts are underway to identify a suitable demonstration
site.
Resources Conservation Co.
Technology Description. The Basic Extraction
Sludge Treatment (B.E.S.T.) process, developed by
Resources Conservation Co., of Bellevue, Washington,
is used to de-water and de-oil contaminated sludges and
soils, including those containing PCBs. The process
uses differences in chemical solubility of triethylamine
(TEA) in water at different temperatures to break waste
into three constituentsdischargeable water, oil and
organics, and dry oil-free solids. Heavy metals are iso-
lated by conversion to hydrated oxides which precipitate
out and exit the process with the solids fraction.
The technology has applicalion to difficult-
to-handle oily sludges, oils, or PCB-contaminated soils
and sediments. There are no special climatic restrictions
to the B.E.S.T. system, although some system
modifications may be required in extremely cold
climates.
Demonstration Status. The first full-scale
B.E.S.T. unit was used as part of a removal action
at the General Refining Superfund site in Garden City,
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Georgia. Two sites with PCB-contaminated soils are requirements that resulted in long delays to evaluate
being evaluated to determine their suitability for their process. CBI Freeze Technologies, Inc., withdrew
demonstrating the B.E.S.T. process. its physical separation technology from the SITE
Program in June 1989 because the technology was not
Withdrawn Physical Treatment Technologies ready for demonstration. In September 1989, Sanitech,
Inc., was removed from the SITE Program because an
In January 1989, Weston Services, Inc., withdrew acceptable demonstration site could not be identified for
its technology from the SITE Program due to permit their ion exchange technology.
11-37
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III. EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES PROGRAM
The Emerging Technologies Program provides a
framework to encourage the bench- and pilot-scale
testing and evaluation of technologies that have already
been proven at the conceptual stage. The goal is to
promote the development of viable alternatives available
for use in Superfund site remediations. The emerging
technologies may then be considered for the SITE
Demonstration Program, for field demonstration and
evaluation.
Technologies are solicited for the Emerging
Technologies Program through Requests for Proposals.
Each July, EPA advertises in the Commerce Business
Daily and trade journals for submission of preproposals.
Following a technical review of these preproposals,
15-20 offerers are invited to submit full proposals and
to enter into the competitive cooperative agreements
application process. Selected technology developers
receive a maximum of two years' funding to enable
them to move their technologies toward
commercialization. The program provides awards of up
to $150,000 per year, for a maximum of $300,000 over
two years. However, second-year funding depends on
the achievement of significant progress during the first
year. Three solicitations have been issued to datein
September 1987 (E-01), July 1988 (E-02), and July
1989 (E-03). The Emerging Technologies Program
currently includes a total of 15 bench- and pilot-scale
technologies. The selection of E-03 projects is expected
in early 1990.
The major accomplishments of the Emerging
Technologies Program for FY 1989 are as follows:
Results to date were sufficiently encouraging to
warrant approval of second-year funding for five of
the E-01 projects.
Seven new bench- or pilot-scale technologies
were accepted under the E-02 solicitation, and
one additional technology under the E-01
solicitation.
EPA has evaluated 47 preproposals as a result of the
E-03 solicitation issued in July 1989. In early
1990, EPA may approve an expanded number of
emerging technologies from this solicitation.
A. ACCOMPLISHMENTS
1. E-01 Emerging Technologies
The first year of study has been completed for the
seven projects initially funded under E-01. An eighth
project was subsequently added in 1989 due to
availability of funds. The eight projects received a total
first-year funding of approximately $1,000,000. The
projects are evaluating the use of manmade wetlands to
remove and accumulate metals from influent waters,
chemical treatment combined with ultrafiltration to
remove heavy metal ions from aqueous waste solutions,
laser stimulated photochemical oxidation to remove
toxic organics from groundwater, a biological sorption
process to remove heavy metal ions from groundwater,
soil washing with a blend of solvents to cleanse
contaminated soils, and steam extraction and
electroacoustics for in-situ treatment to remove organic
and inorganic contaminants from soils.
Results to date were sufficiently encouraging to
warrant approval of second-year funding for five of the
projects: Atomic Energy of Canada, Ltd., Colorado
School of Mines, Energy and Environmental
Engineering, Inc., Harmon Environmental Services,
Inc., and Western Research Institute. The sixth
project, Bio-Recovery Systems, Inc., was a one-year
project not requiring additional funds, and the seventh
project, Battelle Memorial Institute, will be dis-
continued due to lack of commitment by the developer.
Although five of the projects are mid-way in their
project period and significant conclusions at this point
in time are premature, some of the accomplishments
noted to date are described below for each project. The
E-01 emerging technologies are listed in Exhibit III-l,
along with a description of the status of the project.
Atomic Energy of Canada, Ltd.
Atomic Energy of Canada, Ltd. (AECL), Chalk
River, Ontario, is preparing a laboratory-scale demon-
stration technology to extract dissolved toxic metals
from groundwater. The technology uses ultrafiltration
in combination with chemical treatment to selectively
remove dissolved metal ions from dilute aqueous waste
solutions.
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EXHIBIT 111-1. STATUS OF E-01 EMERGING
TECHNOLOGIES IN THE SITE PROGRAM
DEVELOPER
TECHNOLOGY
STATUS
Atomic Energy of Canada, Ltd.
Chalk River, Ontario
Chemical Treatment/
Ultrafiltration
During the first year's work, AECL has successfully
separated cadmium, lead, and mercury ions, even in
the presence of an organic compound (toluene).
Second-year funding for the project has been approved.
Battelle Memorial Institute
Columbus, OH
Electroacoustic/Soil
Decontamination (ESD)
Phase I studies show that the ESD process is only
marginally effective for hydrocarbon removal.
Therefore, the project will not enter Phase II. The
project has not been approved for second-year funding.
Bio-Recovery
Systems, Inc.
Las Cruces, NM
Algal Sorption of
Metals
A pilot-scale demonstration of the AlgaSORB
process was carried out on mercury contaminated
groundwater at an industrial facility in Oakland,
California, in September 1989. This is a one-year
project and the final report is in preparation.
Colorado School of Mines
Golden, CO
Constructed
Wetlands
The pilot-scale wetland has reduced toxicity by a
factor of 4-20 times and removed most of the zinc
and copper from the drainage. Second-year funding
for the project has been approved.
Energy and Environmental
Engineering, Inc.
Somerville, MA
Laser Stimulated
Photochemical
Oxidation
Testing is continuing on the types of compounds
that can be destroyed by the activity of the laser
beam into the contanoinated water. Second-year
funding for the project has been approved.
Harmon Environmental Services,
Inc. (Formerly Envirite Field
Services, Inc.)
Atlanta, GA
Soil Washing
Laboratory and pilot-scale programs are complete.
Harmon has submitted their interim report.
Second-year funding for the project has been
approved.
Membrane Technology and
Research, Inc.
Menlo Park, CA
Membrane Process
for VOC Removal
The project was initiated on July 1,1989. The
cooperative agreement has been signed. A planning
meeting was held on August 9, 1989. A draft QAPP
was submitted to EPA for review in September 1989.
Western Research Institute
Laramie, WY
Contained Recovery
of Oily Wastes
A number of hot water leaching tests have been
completed. Second-year funding for the project
has been approved.
ni-2
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Chemical
Addition p|OW
i Inlluent Indicator
Retenate
Recycle
-X-
Hollow-fibre
Ultrafiltration
Cartridges
X
Heat
Exchanger
7
I
T T T
Permeate
Exhibit III-2. Atomic Energy of Canada, Ltd.'s Mobile Ultrafiltration Unit
During the first year's work, bench-scale tests were
conducted to identify dominant variables affecting
membrane fouling as well as metal removal efficiencies.
The results of these tests showed the following removal
rates: up to 99% for cadmium and mercury, 90% for
lead, and 10-35% for arsenic. The research also
indicated that Ultrafiltration, unlike conventional
precipitation technologies, does not require the
production of large particles, and thus may be more
applicable to feed streams with high variability in
metals concentration. During the second year of the
project, AECL will prepare and field-test a pilot-scale
mobile separation unit.
Battelle Memorial Institute
Battelle Memorial Institute, Columbus, Ohio, is
investigating the Electroacoustic Soil Decontamination
(BSD) process for in-situ treatment of soils
contaminated with fuel oil, hazardous organic
compounds, and heavy metals. This technology de-
contaminates soils through the application of electrical
(direct current) and acoustic fields. These direct currents
facilitate the transport of liquids through soils. The
process consists of electrodes and an acoustic source.
The first year's results indicate that the BSD process
is a feasible technology for removing inorganic species
(i.e., zinc and cadmium) from clayey soils; it is only
marginally effective for hydrocarbon removal. To date,
the ESD process has not been applied to in-situ site
remediation. Consequently, any further work on hydro-
carbon removal was not recommended. Battelle
Memorial Institute was unable to obtain cost sharing
commitments from their industrial partners for the
second year. Therefore, efforts for the first year con-
tinued through December 31,1989, and a camera-ready
copy of the Phase I final report will be prepared.
Bio-Recovery Systems, Inc.
Bio-Recovery Systems, Inc., Las Cruces, New
Mexico, is testing AlgaSORBR, a new technology for
the removal and recovery of heavy metal ions from
groundwater. AlgaSORBR is a biological sorption
process based on the affinity of algae cell walls for
heavy metal ions.
Treatability studies showed that mercury con-
taminated samples containing 170 ppb of mercury with
a pH of 1.8 can be removed well below the required 10
ppb discharge limit. A pilot-scale demonstration of the
AlgaSORBR process was carried out on mercury-
contaminated groundwater at an industrial facility in
Oakland, California, in September 1989. This one-year
project is expected to be completed by January 31,1990.
Testing was designed to determine optimum flow rates,
binding capacities, and efficiency of stripping agents.
m-3
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The process is being commercialized for groundwater
treatment and industrial point source treatment
Colorado School of Mines
The Colorado School of Mines, Golden, Colorado,
is investigating a constructed, wetlands-based treatment
technology predicated on the concept of using natural
geochemical and biological processes inherent in a
manmade wetland ecosystem to accumulate and remove
metals from influent waters. The purpose of this
project, initiated in October 1988, is to investigate the
use of constructed (manmade) wetlands for the removal
of toxic metals from mineral mine drainage and other
aqueous streams. A pilot-scale system has been built to
assess the effectiveness of constructed wetlands in
treating the effluent from the Big Five Tunnel near
Idaho Springs, Colorado. To date, the wetlands have
reduced toxicity by a factor of 4 to 20 times and
removed most of the zinc and copper from the drainage.
Energy & Environmental Engineering, Inc.
Energy & Environmental Engineering, Inc.,
Somerville, Massachusetts, is investigating a tech-
nology designed to photochemically oxidize organic
compounds in wastewater by applying ultraviolet
radiation using a laser beam. This process is envisioned
as a polishing step in treating organic contamination in
groundwater drawn from a hazardous waste site or
industrial wastewater prior to discharge.
Testing is continuing on compounds that can be
photochemically oxidized by the activity of a laser beam
into contaminated water. In the laboratory, this process
has been used to destroy benzene, chlorinated benzenes,
and phenol. Aeration of the contaminated water just
preceding the laser beam appears to aid in destroying the
organic molecules. This is probably due to the
formation of an oxygen radical or ozone by the energy
of the laser beam on the oxygen dissolved in the water.
The most efficient destruction of chlorobenzene occurs
at concentrations of 12.5 to 50 mg/L in the water;
efficiency is less when the concentration is either too
low (3 mg/L) or too high (100 mg/L). In the second
year, actual leachate containing phenols will be tested,
and a revised pilot-scale unit will be built incorporating
operational changes suggested by the results to date.
One major change will be to shorten the length of the
reaction chamber as almost all of the reaction occurs in
the first few inches of the chamber.
Harmon Environmental Services, Inc.
Harmon Environmental Services, Inc. (formerly
Envirite Field Services, Inc.), Atlanta, Georgia, is
conducting a series of laboratory tests on a soil washing
process that uses a blend of solvents to cleanse soil
contaminated with high molecular weight organic com-
pounds, such as PCBs and dioxins. The solvents are
then removed from the solid by steam stripping. The
tests will determine how different soils separate from
solvents using pressure filtration and centrifugation.
Soil/Solvent
Contactor
Clean Solvent
Storage
Dirty Solvent
Storage
Solvent
Recovery
PCBto
Disposal
Water Separator
Water
Exhibit III-3. Schematic of Harmon Environmental Services, Inc.'s Simplified Solvent
Washing Process
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Laboratory and pilot-scale programs are complete,
and an interim report has been prepared. One hundred
twenty laboratory tests were conducted using 12 soil
types (various combinations of clay, organic matter, and
sand), three solvents, and three separation techniques.
Standard Analytical Reference Materials (SARMs) were
also evaluated.
Membrane Technology and Research, Inc.
The availability of additional funds allowed EPA to
accept an eighth emerging technology under the E-01
program. Membrane Technology and Research, Inc.,
Menlo Park, California, is developing a technology to
treat contaminated air streams at hazardous waste sites.
The contaminated vapor-laden air is drawn across a
polymeric membrane that is permeable to organic vapor
but relatively impermeable to air. The vapors are
condensed and recovered as a liquid organic product
suitable for recycling, disposal, or further treatment. A
series of tests on waste streams containing octane,
toluene, acetone, and 1,1,1-trichloroethane have shown
that membrane technology may be applicable to waste
streams generated at Superfund sites.
The cooperative agreement between Membrane
Technology and Research, Inc. and EPA has been
signed. The project was initiated on July 1,1989 and is
expected to be completed by June 30, 1990. A draft
Quality Assurance Project Plan (QAPP) was submitted
to EPA for review in September 1989.
Western Research Institute
The Western Research Institute, Laramie,
Wyoming, is conducting several tests to recover oil and
water from soils using conventional oil recovery
technology and controlled injections of steam and hot
and cold water. Residual organic pollutants in the soil
are biodegraded to remediate the hazardous oily wastes.
This technology can be applied to soils containing
organic liquids, such as coal tars, PCP solutions,
creosote, and petroleum byproducts. This technology is
being tested at laboratory- and pilot-scale. A number of
hot water leaching tests have been completed.
2. E-02 Emerging Technologies
EPA issued its second solicitation of the Emerging
Technologies Program (E-02) on July 8, 1988. The
E-02 solicitation focused on technologies designed to
treat complex mixtures of hazardous organic and
inorganic contaminants in sludge and soils by either
in-situ or surface processes that separate, remove,
destroy, detoxify, or stabilize the contaminants or
provide for improved solids handling and pretreatment.
Technologies that are applicable to only treating
aqueous or air streams were considered but were of less
interest. Likewise, technologies applicable to problems
that exist at only a few Superfund sites were considered
less desirable than those applicable to numerous
Superfund sites.
Steam-Stripped
Water
Low Quality
Steam
Injection
Well
Production
Well
Oil and Water
Production
- - Hot Water
Displacement
Hot Water
Floatation
Steam Injection
Exhibit III-4. Schematic of Western Research Institute's CROW Process
m-5
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Sixty preproposals were received in response to the
E-02 solicitation. These preproposals were reviewed by
EPA in October 1988. Seven emerging technologies
were selected for funding under the E-02 solicitation,
and the technologies are described below. The E-02
emerging technologies are listed in Exhibit III-5, along
with a description of the status of the project.
Babcock & Wilcox Company
Babcock and Wilcox Company, Contract Research
Division, Alliance, Ohio, is testing a cyclone furnace to
treat soils contaminated with metals and organic
chemicals. The organic chemicals are incinerated and
the metals are captured in a non-leachable slag. The
cyclone combustor is a water-cooled horizontal cylinder
attached to the main furnace in which fuel is fired at
temperatures high enough to completely destroy the
combustibles and melt the ash into a liquid slag. The
unit is designed to destroy organic and inorganic solid,
liquid, or gaseous contaminants.
Center for Hazardous Materials Research
The Center for Hazardous Materials Research,
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has successfully applied their
Acid Extraction Treatment System (AETS) technology
to remediation of soils, sludges, and ash contaminated
with organics. Contaminants are removed via
countercurrent extraction with an acid. This results in
the detoxification of the input material stream. The
contaminants concentrate in a separate stream for further
treatment to remove metals and organics. The system
has not been fully developed for effective removal of
heavy metals.
Electro-Pure Systems, Inc.
Electro-Pure Systems, Inc., Amherst, New York, is
developing a method that uses alternating current
electrocoagulation to remove colloidal or suspended
particles from water. With this technology
electrochemical interactions enhance the liquid/liquid and
solid/liquid phase separation process, without the use of
polyelectrolyte and chemical aids. It has applicability
to wastewaters, soluble oils, high water content
slurries, sediments, and sludges containing both
hazardous inorganic and organic contaminants. Risk
minimization and economic viability will be assessed.
Enviro-Sciences, Inc.
Enviro-Sciences, Inc., Mt. Arlington, New Jersey,
is testing the Low-Energy Solvent Extraction Process,
which uses common hydrophilic and hydrophobic
solvents to extract and concentrate hydrophobic organic
pollutants from soils and sediments. The process is
designed to remove PCBs and other organic
contaminants from soils, sludges, and sediments from
harbors, rivers, and lagoons. The technology is
currently available for bench-scale treatability studies.
Development of the pilot test bed is underway.
International Technology Corporation
International Technology Corporation (ITC),
Knoxville, Tennessee, is investigating a two-step batch
treatment process to treat soils contaminated with
organics and heavy metals. In the first step, the volatile
and semivolatile components are removed using batch
steam distillation. In the second step, the heavy metals
are extracted from the soil into an aqueous medium for
recovery or disposal. The treated soil is returned to the
site as a wet nonhazardous sludge. The equipment for
the pilot-scale demonstration of the batch steam
distillation/metal extraction treatment of contaminated
Superfund soils is being assembled at the Oak Ridge,
Tennessee, facility and arrangements are being made to
obtain a variety of contaminated soils for testing. It is
expected that pilot-scale tests will be conducted with a
clay soil, a sandy soil, and a loamy soil. Each soil may
contain different contaminants, since these are actual
wastes from contaminated sites.
University of Washington
The University of Washington, Department of
Civil Engineering, Seattle, Washington, is
experimenting with an adsorptive filtration process that
removes inorganic contaminants from the liquid phase.
The process uses a variety of materials to adsorb metals
onto the surface of minerals that have been immobilized
on substrate particles. After the metal contaminants are
separated from the adsorbent material, it can be reused to
treat subsequent batches of wastes. Further testing and
evaluation of an adsorptive filtration process for
removing metals (inorganics) from aqueous waste
streams will be conducted. The filtration media is
ferrihydrite (iron oxide) coated on sand grains or
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EXHIBIT 111-5. STATUS OF E-02 EMERGING
TECHNOLOGIES IN THE SITE PROGRAM
DEVELOPER
TECHNOLOGY
STATUS
Babcock & Wilcox Co.
Alliance, OH
Cyclone Furnace
The cooperative agreement has been
processed and sent to the developer.
Center for Hazardous
Materials Research
Pittsburgh, PA
Acid Extraction
The cooperative agreement has been
processed and sent to the developer.
Electro-Pure
Systems, Inc.
Amherst, NY
Alternating Current
Electro-Coagulation
A cooperative agreement was awarded August 14,
1989. A kickoff meeting was held August 25,1989.
The detailed workplan and QAPP are being
developed.
Enviro-Sciences, Inc.
Mt. Arlington, NJ
Low-Energy
Solvent Extraction
A kickoff meeting was held in Mt. Arlington,
New Jersey on August 31,1989. The detailed
workplan and QAPP are being developed.
International Technology
Corporation
Knoxville, TN
Batch Steam
Distillation/Metal
Extraction
The equipment for this project is being
assembled at the Oak Ridge, Tennessee
pilot plant facilities of ITC. The QA/QC
plan is being prepared.
University of Washington
Seattle, WA
Adsorptive Filtration
The draft workplan and QAPP were
submitted to EPA on August 31,1989 and
are being reviewed.
Wastewater Technology
Centre
Ontario, Canada
Crossflow
Pervaporation
System
WTC has already begun developmental work
on the system. EPA funding will go primarily
toward construction and testing of a
pilot-scale unit.
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possibly activated carbon. This technology has been
investigated extensively at the bench-scale level.
Further bench-scale tests will be performed to establish
optimal operating conditions and to evaluate the effects
of organic complexation and particulates on treatment
efficiency.
Wastewater Technology Centre
Wastewater Technology Centre (WTC), Ontario,
Canada, is investigating the use of pervaporation, a
demonstrated membrane technology, for the removal and
concentration of VOCs from aqueous wastes. Two
streams are produced by this process: a treated effluent
free of VOCs, and a vapor containing concentrated
VOCs. Both phases require further processing for
decontamination. The separation unit will be
constructed to allow contaminated material to flow
across the outside of hollow fiber membranes while
VOCs diffuse into the interior of the fibers. This
design will minimize chances for plugging or fouling
the unit with solids. The project objectives include:
(1) optimization of membrane thickness, (2) develop-
ment of a transversal-flow prototype module, (3) testing
of the pilot-scale unit to provide scale-up data, and
(4) verifying the economic analysis of the process.*
WTC has already begun developmental work on the
system and EPA funding will go primarily toward
construction and testing of a pilot-scale unit.
B. FUTURE ACTIVITIES
On July 7, 1989, EPA sent out 577 Requests for
Proposal for the third solicitation (E-03) of the
Emerging Technologies Program. The E-03 solici-
tation emphasized the following types of technologies:
Treatment of solids (including soils and sludges)
containing both organic and inorganic constituents,
or only inorganic constituents.
Materials handling techniques that improve pretreat-
ment and post-treatment operations, including those
that separate hazardous from nonhazardous
components.
Low-cost methods to treat large volumes of soil
with relatively low contaminant concentration
levels.
Biological technologies for soils and sludges
capable of treating organic contamination.
Separation/extraction of low-level radioactive waste
material from soils.
In-situ treatment processes for soils that would
provide alternatives to long-term conventional
pump and treatment approaches to remediation.
On September 7,1989,47 proposals were received
in response to the E-03 solicitation. Final selection of
the technologies for the Emerging Technologies
Program will be in March 1990. EPA may approve an
expanded number of new emerging technologies as a
result of the SITE E-03 solicitation.
There is a progressive trend in the SITE Program
toward emphasizing in-situ technologies that address the
treatment of soils and sludges, the treatment of mixed
wastes containing low-level radioactive material,
materials handling, and unit processes used in treatment
trains. Future Emerging Technologies Program
solicitations will continue to emphasize technologies
that are applicable to treating complex mixtures
of hazardous organic and inorganic contaminants
in sludges and soils, as well as those technologies that
are applicable to remediating numerous Superfund
sites. The fourth solicitation for the Emerging
Technologies Program is expected to be published in
July 1990.
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IV. MONITORING AND MEASUREMENT TECHNOLOGIES PROGRAM
The EPA Environmental Monitoring Systems
Laboratory in Las Vegas, Nevada (EMSL-LV), has been
supporting the development of innovative monitoring
and measurement techniques in conjunction with the
SITE Program. The SITE Program provides EPA with
a good mechanism to identify and demonstrate
monitoring and measurement technologies that exist
within and outside the federal government and which
may provide less expensive, better, and/or faster means
to detect contaminants at hazardous waste sites.
In 1986, SARA charged EPA with effecting more
timely, permanent, and cost-effective remedies at the
nation's Superfund sites. Monitoring and measurement
technologies are required in several phases of the
Superfund remedial process. The costs incurred for site
characterization are a direct result of sampling, analysis,
and the associated quality assurance activities. There-
fore, the capabilities of field screening methods to yield
immediate or quick-turnaround environmental data will
result in major savings in both cost and time for
Superfund remediation, will decrease the human and
ecological risks associated with Superfund sites, and
will enhance the abilities to manage such risks.
Through EMSL-LV, monitoring and measurement
technologies are evaluated to determine their ability to:
(1) assess the extent of contamination, (2) determine
effects on human health and the environment, (3) aid in
the selection of the most appropriate remedial action,
and (4) monitor the effectiveness of a selected remedy.
The Monitoring and Measurement Technologies
Program (MMTP) focuses only on technologies that
detect, monitor, and measure hazardous and toxic
substances in air, surface waters, groundwaters, soil,
subsurface (saturated and vadose) zones, wastes, and
biological tissues.
The MMTP has both an emerging technologies and
a field demonstration component. In prior years,
MMTP activities were conducted under the emerging
technologies component as the program operated
predominently as a research laboratory focusing on the
developmental stage of monitoring and measuring
technologies. MMTP activities are now moving toward
the field demonstration component as monitoring and
measurement technologies become ready for
demonstration. During Fiscal Year 1989, the first two
monitoring and measurement technologies were
demonstrated at Superfund sites. These two
technologies included:
A field immunoassay kit and a laboratory-based
immunoassay for measuring pentachlorophenol in
groundwater, and
Canister-based samplers and long-path optical
systems (high resolution Fourier-transform infrared
spectrometer) for monitoring toxic organics in
ambient air.
It is anticipated that three to five additional
monitoring and measurement technologies will be
funded for demonstration during the coming fiscal year.
The two demonstrations completed in FY 1989 and the
planned activities of the MMTP for the coming year are
discussed below.
A. ACCOMPLISHMENTS
In FY 1989 the first two monitoring and
measurement technologies were ready for demonstration.
The two demonstrations that were conducted during the
fourth quarter of this fiscal year are described below.
The full demonstration reports for each of these
technologies will be available in FY 1990.
The first demonstration was conducted in conjunc-
tion with the BioTrol, Inc., biological treatment tech-
nology demonstration at the MacGillis and Gibbs Super-
fund site in New Brighton, Minnesota. EMSL-LV
tested the performance of a field immunoassay kit and a
laboratory-based immunoassay for measuring
pentachlorophenol (PCP) in treated and untreated
groundwater. The immunoassay technique employs
antibodies specific for binding to PCP. The technique
is based on competition for antibody binding between a
known amount of PCP from a standard solution and an
unknown amount of PCP contained in water samples.
The analysis is completed in 20 minutes with a
detection level of 1 ppb.
The second project was a cooperative field study
undertaken with the State of Delaware's Department of
Natural Resources and Environmental Control. At four
sites near New Castle, Delaware, comparisons between
air sampling and monitoring techniques were
investigated. Three of the four sites are Superfund sites,
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including the Army Creek Landfill, Delaware Sand and
Gravel, and the Halby Chemical Site. The technologies
that were investigated include canister-based samplers,
Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy for
long-path monitoring of ambient air volatile organics,
and solid sorbant sampling and analysis. Comparisons
between the canister-based and the FTIR methodologies
were carried out to develop point and long-path
monitoring relationships.
B. FUTURE ACTIVITIES
During FY 1990, EMSL-LV has set ambitious
goals for the MMTP. One significant activity will
involve gathering information from the developers of
innovative monitoring and measurement technologies to
develop technology profiles. The technology profiles
will accomplish three purposes. First, the information
gathering effort will alert developers that EPA is
interested in enhancing its ability to assess the nature
and extent of contamination at Superfund sites. Second,
preparation of the technology profiles will encourage
developers to participate in the SITE Program to obtain
support for the development of technologies that can be
field demonstrated, and the necessary field methods or
standard operating procedures. Third, the profiles will
provide an information base from which EPA can
determine technologies that may be suitable participants
in the Monitoring and Measurement Technologies
Program and identify technology and data gaps.
It is anticipated that three to five demonstrations
will be conducted under the MMTP in FY 1990.
Presently, EMSL-LV is considering the following
technologies for demonstration:
An immunoassay field kit for the measurement of
benzene, toluene, and xylene in soil.
A side-by-side demonstration of field mass
spectrometers.
Data acquisition and management software for use
with field portable x-ray fluorescence spectrometers.
Sample preparation equipment for thermal
desorption of VOCs from soil samples.
HR-FT-IR spectrometer for the detection of ambient
volatile organic carbon compound emissions from
Superfund sites.
In addition, the MMTP is considering the following
types of emerging technologies for inclusion in the
program in FY 1990:
Mercuric iodide detectors for use with field x-ray
fluorescence spectrometers.
A computer interface between a data telemetry
system and geophysical and x-ray fluorescence
technologies.
Field methods for measuring hexavalent chromium
in soils.
Development of new soil sampling methods for
VOCs.
Planning and coordinating the Second International
Symposium on Field Screening Methods for Hazardous
Waste and Toxic Chemicals will be an important
activity in FY 1990. The symposium is scheduled for
February 12-14, 1991 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The co-
sponsors for the symposium will include the
Department of Energy, the U.S. Army Toxic and
Hazardous Materials Agency, and Florida State
University. EMSL-LV is actively seeking the
participation of other federal agencies as well. The first
symposium, held in October 1988, was successful in
bringing together a mix of individuals representing
various federal and state agencies, technology
developers, and venture capitalists to discuss rapid,
in-field site characterization and monitoring tech-
nologies. The proceedings from the symposium were
provided to the National Technical Information Service
(NTIS) for public distribution.
During FY 1990, demonstration reports will be
prepared for the immunoassay technique demonstration
to detect toxics in water, and the demonstration of the
air sampling and monitoring techniques. In addition to
these two demonstration reports, the following two
administrative documents will be finalized and available
for distribution:
Overview of the Monitoring and Measurement
Technologies Program Operating under the SITE
Program.
Guidelines for Demonstrating Monitoring and
Measurement Technologies under the SITE
Program.
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V. TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER PROGRAM
The Technology Transfer Program component of the
SITE Program involves all of the community relations,
information dissemination, and technical assistance
activities that support the other three components of the
SITE Program. The technology transfer strategy
focuses on compilation and dissemination of SITE
Program results to various audiences. The purpose of
the technology transfer activities is the development of
an interactive information exchange network that
consolidates information on existing hazardous waste
treatment technologies to assist those making hazardous
waste remediation decisions. The primary audience of
SITE Program data is regional and state managers of
Superfund cleanup activities, who often supervise the
work of contractors and potentially responsible parties
(PRPs). Additional audiences include remediation
contractors, other federal agencies, technology
developers, academia, the pollution control industry, and
the interested public.
The major accomplishments of the Technology
Transfer Program during FY 1989 include:
Numerous publications were prepared and
disseminated including eight Technology Evaluation
Reports, four Applications Analysis Reports, six
SITE videos, two program status brochures, and
numerous project fact sheets, bulletins, and
technical papers and posters.
EPA sponsored an international forum on
innovative hazardous waste treatment technologies
that was attended by over 530 representives of the
United States and seven other countries. The
purpose of the conference was to introduce
promising international technologies through
technical papers and poster displays, and to discuss
the status and results of the SITE Program
technologies.
The ATTIC system became operational in May
1989 and has distributed over 400 copies of the
Database and responded to over 150 requests for
information. An online system was implemented in
November 1989.
EPA and the Department of Energy (DOE) signed a
Memorandum of Understanding to conduct a joint
demonstration under the SITE Program at a DOE
facility having radioactive and mixed waste.
A Regional SITE Coordinator's Meeting was held
to identify potential demonstration sites for new
technologies entering the SITE Program.
Visitor's Days were held to observe field activities
for six demonstrations and attendance ranged from
30-135 visitors.
The Technology Transfer Program encompasses a
variety of public outreach and information dis-
semination programs and activities. The major
accomplishments during FY 1989 for each of these
programs and activities are discussed below.
A. ACCOMPLISHMENTS
1. SITE Reports, Videos, Brochures, and
Publications
Tweleve reports, including eight Technology
Evaluation Reports and four Applications Analysis
Reports, were completed in FY 1989. SITE reports,
specifically, the Technology Evaluation and
Applications Analysis Reports, are prepared following
the completion of each demonstration and laboratory
analyses. The Technology Evaluation Report is a
technical report documenting the performance data
resulting from the demonstration, sampling and analysis
procedures, and QA/QC program. The Applications
Analysis Report evaluates available information on the
technology and presents the applicability of each
technology to other sites and wastes. Copies of these
reports and summaries of these reports are disseminated
by EPA, and additional copies are available through the
National Technical Information Service. A list of
publications, including information on obtaining the
documents, is provided in Appendix 1.
Press releases are issued by EPA to announce the
selection of new technologies into the SITE Program,
the selection of sites for demonstrations, and the results
of the demonstrations. Program status memoranda are
sent regularly to the regional offices and states, and the
Technology Transfer Newsletter, published quarterly by
the Center for Environmental Research Information
(CERI), lists available SITE reports. Site-specific
Technology Fact Sheets are prepared for each
technology prior to the field demonstration. A sample
Technology Fact Sheet is provided in Appendix 2.
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Demonstration Bulletins are prepared for each
technology after the field demonstration is completed.
A sample Demonstration Bulletin is provided in
Appendix 3. The Fact Sheets and Demonstration
Bulletins are distributed in the local community and
among developers, state, and regional staff. Videos of
the technology demonstrations are also produced to
supplement the other informational materials describing
the demonstrations. Six videos were completed in FY
1989. In addition, EPA and SITE Program participants
prepared and presented technical papers and posters
describing innovative hazardous waste technologies at
conferences, including the international forum discussed
below.
SITE Program status brochures are prepared twice
each year, one for the annual RREL Symposium and
the other for the Superfund Conference and Exhibition.
Each year approximately 500 to 900 participants attend
the RREL Symposium and 3,000 participants attend the
Superfund Conference. The brochures provide a brief
background of the SITE Program and its components.
They contain technology descriptions for the SITE
Program projects, the names of EPA and developer
contacts, and the progress and accomplishments of the
program to date. In addition, the brochures identify
contacts for further information on the SITE Program,
who should apply, how to apply, what occurs under the
program, and when the next solicitation will be issued.
The brochures are widely disseminated at these
conferences. Approximately 12,000 copies of each of
these brochures were printed and distributed in FY 1989.
EPA has updated the Superfund Innovative
Technology Evaluation Program: Technology Profiles,
originally published in 1988. The document includes
an overview of the SITE Program, a list of the program
participants, and profiles on each of the technologies,
including a description of the technology, a discussion
on waste applicability, the status of the demonstration,
and an EPA and technology developer contact for further
information. The purpose of the Technology Profiles is
to provide regional decision-makers and other interested
individuals with a ready reference on those technologies
in the SITE Demonstration and Emerging Technologies
Programs.
2. International Forum on Innovative
Hazardous Waste Treatment Technologies
On June 19-21, 1989, the Forum on Innovative
Hazardous Waste Treatment Technologies: Domestic
and International, sponsored by EPA, was held in
Atlanta, Georgia. Over 530 representatives from the
United States and seven other countries attended the
conference. During this first-ever meeting of its kind,
scientists and engineers, representing U.S. and
international government agencies, industry, and
academia attended 30 presentations describing successful
international and SITE Program case studies of
physical, chemical, biological, thermal, and
stabilization treatment methods. International scientists
and vendors presented over 40 posters explaining their
treatment methods and results.
With approximately 70% of the participants from
industry, the conference provided an excellent
opportunity for EPA regional staff, cleanup contractors,
and vendors to make contacts and to discuss the
advantages and limitations of innovative technologies in
order to make better choices among technologies under
consideration at Superfund sites. Based on the
enthusiastic response from conference participants, a
second international forum is scheduled for May 15-17,
1990 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
3. Clearinghouses
Alternative Treatment Technology
Information Center (ATTIC)
ATTIC is a comprehensive, automated information
retrieval system that integrates data on hazardous waste
treatment technologies into a centralized, searchable
source. It was initiated in November 1987, and a
prototype version became operational in May 1989. It
is presently composed of four major components: (1) a
hotlne, (2) an electronic bulletin board, (3) a reference
library, and (4) a computerized information network.
Hard copies of information are provided upon request.
The ATTIC system was designed to provide information
on hazardous waste treatment to a user community
consisting of EPA headquarters and regional staff,
participating state environmental agencies, and the
numerous remediation contractors.
The information contained in ATTIC consists of a
wide variety of data obtained from the SITE Program
and federal and state agencies. The core of the ATTIC
system is the ATTIC Database which contains abstracts
and executive summaries from over 900 technical
documents and reports.
In addition to the ATTIC Database, the ATTIC
system serves as a "gateway" to access relevant
information sources. The ATTIC system contains
resident databases that had already been developed, as
well as online commercial databases. The ATTIC
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resident databases include the RREL (Water) Treatability
Database, RSKERL Soil Transport and Fate Database,
EPA Library Hazardous Waste Collection, Technical
Assistance Directory, Historical User File, and Online
Resources-Technical Information Exchange (TIX) and
OSWER Bulletin Board, Dialcom, NTIS, and RODS
Database.
The major accomplishments of the ATTIC system
during FY 1989 include the following:
The ATTIC system was successfully pilot tested in
the Hazardous Waste Management Division of U.S.
EPA Region III.
The ATTIC system has been successfully
demonstrated in the States of California, Florida,
and Washington. It has been demonstrated at four
major hazardous waste conferences.
Since the ATTIC system became operational in the
prototype version in May 1989, over 150 requests
for information have been received. The responses
to each of these requests have been timely and met
the information needs of the requestors. Over 400
copies of the ATTIC Database have been distributed
throughout the user community.
The prototype version allowed only one user access
to the system at one time. In November 1989, an
online system was implemented that accommodates
up to eight simultaneous users.
OSWER Bulletin Board
The OSWER electronic bulletin board system
(BBS), accessible by microcomputers, is intended to
foster communications and technology transfer among
EPA regional, headquarters, and laboratory personnel,
federal, state, and local government personnel, and EPA
contractors interested in solid and hazardous waste
technical issues. The BBS offers up-to-date bulletins
describing the current status of each of the SITE
technology demonstrations. The BBS also offers
messages, files and computer programs, databases, and
information on conferences.
Technical Information Exchange (TIX)
EPA's Technical Information Exchange (TIX)
Computerized On-Line Information System (COLIS)
provides quick and easy access to the complete text of
each published SITE Applications Analysis Report.
The reports can be searched by entering keywords to
locate the reports and pertinent sections. TIX dis-
seminates technical information involving hazardous
waste technologies and assists users in locating or
obtaining materials from other sources (e.g., EPA's
Center for Environmental Research Information).
4. Cooperative Efforts with Other Federal
Agencies
EPA has conducted two internal studies of research,
development, .and demonstration (RD&D) needs for
radioactively contaminated Superfund sites. Based on
the results of these studies, EPA is pursuing potential
cooperative demonstration evaluation projects with the
Department of Defense (DOD) and the Department of
Energy (DOE). Discussions were initiated with DOE
because 11 of the 31 radioactively contaminated
Superfund sites are DOE facilities. EPA and DOE are
attempting to create joint projects in five areas related to
hazardous and mixed waste cleanup: (1) demonstration
of new cleanup technologies, (2) R&D on emerging
cleanup technologies, (3) RD&D on waste
minimization at DOE facilities, (4) sharing of
databases, information systems, etc., and (5) RD&D on
monitoring technologies. The SITE Program and the
DOE Hazardous Waste Remedial Actions Program
(HAZWRAP) are the mechanisms used to identify
possible joint projects.
A series of meetings with DOE during FY 1989
have resulted in a Memorandum of Understanding signed
in December 1989 to cover the above work effort.
These meetings have also provided a forum for exchange
of program information by the two agencies. It is
anticipated that a joint EPA/DOE technology
demonstration will be conducted in the summer of 1990.
DOE has expressed an interest in three SITE
technologies and efforts are underway to identify DOE
proposed or listed NPL sites having mixed radioactive
and hazardous wastes for demonstration projects.
5. Regional SITE Coordinator's Meetings
In an effort to speed up the site selection process,
EPA initiated Regional SITE Coordinator's Meetings.
The purpose of the meeting was to identity potential
demonstration sites for the new technologies recently
accepted from the fourth solicitation (SrTE-004) and to
obtain feedback from the regions on the SITE Program.
The SITE-004 technologies were discussed and some
sites were identified for further evaluation and discussion
with the developers. The regional coordinators stressed
the need for brief summaries of technologies that are
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results-oriented, and identified the need for more time to
select appropriate sites for SITE demonstrations.
6. Seminar Series
In order to facilitate the transfer of information on
alternative technologies, EPA has developed a seminar
series to be presented to the regions. The purpose of
the seminars is to further educate regional and state
personnel on the alternative technologies in the SITE
Program. The seminars are designed to present detailed
information on completed SITE demonstrations in a
one-day session. Each region will choose five
completed demonstrations of interest to that region for
the presentation. The seminar series is scheduled to be
pilot tested in Region III on January 11, 1990 and
Region IV on December 14, 1989. An evaluation of
the seminars will be conducted prior to scheduling
additional seminars.
7. Technical Assistance to Regions, States,
and Cleanup Contractors
EPA SITE Project Managers are available to assist
regional, state, and cleanup contractor staff in the
evaluation of technologies for specific remedial/removal
measures. In conducting SITE demonstration projects,
the Project Managers receive operational and process
information that allows them to provide quick-response
technical assistance to facilitate the selection of
appropriate remediation technologies.
8. Public Meetings and Demonstration Site
Visits
Each regional and/or state Community Relations
Officer is encouraged to hold at least one informational
briefing or public meeting in the community on each
demonstration site. In addition, Section 311(b)(5)(E) of
CERCLA requires the establishment of a public notice
and comment period prior to final selection of a
demonstration site. Following the comment period, a
responsiveness summary is prepared and a formal
decision is made on whether to proceed with the
demonstration at the proposed site. A Visitor's Day is
sponsored by EPA during each SITE demonstration to
allow first-hand observation of the technology during
field use and discussions with the developers. During
FY 1989, Visitor's Days were held for the six
demonstrations listed in the following table.
DEVELOPER/
DEMONSTRATION
LOCATION
Soliditech, Inc.
Imperial Oil Co., Inc.
Superfund Site
Morganville, NJ
Ultrox International, Inc.
Lorentz Barrel and
Drum Company
Superfund Site
San Jose, CA
Chemfix Technologies, Inc.
Portland Equipment Salvage
Company Removal Site
Clackamas, OR
Freeze Technologies
Corporation
Stringfellow Superfund Site
Glen Avon, CA
Toxic Treatments
(USA), Inc.
Annex Terminal Site
San Pedro, CA
BioTrol, Inc.
MacGillis and Gibbs
Superfund Site
New Brighton, MN
DATE OF
VISITOR'S DAY
December 7,1988
March 8, 1989
March 15, 1989
August 23 1989
September 7, 1989
September 27, 1989
Attendance at the demonstration sites on Visitor's
Days has ranged from 30-135 visitors. Public
participation in the SITE Program is of major
importance to EPA. The Agency recognizes the impact
of public opinion on the remediation actions at
Superfund sites and is working to identify those
hazardous waste treatment technologies that offer more
permanent protection of human health and the
environment.
B. FUTURE ACTIVITIES
Most of the activities and programs of the
Technology Transfer Program are continuous
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throughout each year of the SITE Program. These
efforts will continue for the technology projects that are
currently in the program and will be initiated
for the new technologies entering the program under
the SITE-005 and E-03 solicitations. EPA Project
Managers will provide technical assistance on their
completed demonstrations as results become available.
It is anticipated that three Technology Evaluation
Reports, six Applications Analysis Reports, and two
combined reports will be published in FY 1990. In
addition, approximately five videotapes should be
produced on completed demonstrations.
The future activities for ATTIC include its
expansion to serve as a true information retrieval
system through the development of a centralized
computer database network with online capability.
Expansion of ATTIC will involve three areas of
development. The most important area of development
for the ATTIC system in FY 1990 will be the
expansion and updating of the volume of information
contained within the ATTIC Database. Additional
technical information will be acquired with treatability
studies receiving a high priority in light of a recent
decision that ATTIC will serve as the source of all
treatability study information in FY 1990. The ATTIC
system hardware/software will be upgraded to support
up to 32 concurrent users by August 1990. The online
system will provide weekly information updates and an
expert system to respond to user inquiries. The system
will also support a sophisticated electronic mail system
which will allow users to communicate with each other,
the system operator, and laboratory experts. The
system operator will be available for special purpose
retrievals and user assistance.
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APPENDIX 1. LIST OF PUBLICATIONS
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LIST OF PUBLICATIONS
SITE PROGRAM DOCUMENTS*
Several of technical publications and SITE Demonstration Program results are available from
EPA. To receive one or more of these reports, call EPA's Center for Environmental Research
Information (CERT) at (513)569-7562.
GENERAL PUBLICATIONS
Technology Profiles (EPA/540/5-89/013)
Brochure - EPA Research Symposium (EPA/540/8-89/010)
PROJECT RESULTS
HAZCON, Inc.
Technology Evaluation Report (EPA/540/5-89/001a)
Applications Analysis (EPA/540/A5-89/001)
Shirco Infrared Systems, Inc.
Technology Evaluation Report - Peak Oil (EPA/540/5-88/002a)
Technology Evaluation Report - Rose Township (EPA/540/5-89/007a)
Applications Analysis (EPA/540/A5-89/007)
American Combustion, Inc.
Technology Evaluation Report (EPA/540/5-89/008)
Applications Analysis (EPA/540/A5-89/008)
Terra Vac, Inc.
Technology Evaluation Report (EPA/540/5-89/003a)
Applications Analysis (EPA/540/A5-89/003)
International Waste Technologies
Technology Evaluation Report (EPA/540/5-89/004a)
C.F. Systems Corporation
Technology Evaluation Report (EPA/540/5-89/006)
Soliditech, Inc.
Technology Evaluation Report (EPA/540/5-89/005)
* Documents ordered through ORD Publications are free of charge.
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APPENDIX 2. SAMPLE TECHNOLOGY
FACT SHEET
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&EPA Fact Sheet 4&MPCA
SITE Demonstrations of Two Technologies at the
MacGillis & Gibbs Site:
1. Soil Washing with the BioTrol Soil Treatment System
2. Biological Treatment of Contaminated Water with the
BioTrol Aqueous Treatment System
The MacGillis & Gibbs site has been proposed as a test site for the demonstration of two cleanup
technologies under a new U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) program called the
Superfund Innovative Technology Evaluation (SITE) program. The technologies proposed for
testing at the MacGillis & Gibbs site were developed by BioTrol, Inc. of Chaska, Minnesota.
One of the technologies was designed to treat contaminated soils; the other technology treats
contaminated groundwater and wastewater. If approved, the demonstrations will occur in
July or August, 1989. The purpose of this Fact Sheet is to provide information on the proposed
project and solicit public comment. EPA staff will discuss the project and ask for public
comments at the regular meeting of the City of New Brighton Environmental Quality
Commission at 7:30 PM, April 12, at New Brighton City Hall, in Council Chamber, 803 Fifth
Avenue, NW, New Brighton, Minnesota. The SITE Demonstrations will be the first topic of
discussion.
What is the Problem?
MacGillis & Gibbs, Inc. has been operating a wood treating facility on a 24-acre site in New
Brighton, Minnesota since the early 1920's. Originally, a preservative known as creosote was
used to treat wood products until the use of pentachlorophenol (penta) was initiated in the late
1940's or early 1950's. In 1970, MacGillis & Gibbs installed a chroma ted copper arsenate (CCA)
pressure treating plant and currently uses only that process. Waste management practices
associated with the current wood treating operations conform to current regulations. However,
for many years MacGillis & Gibbs and the neighboring Bell Lumber & Pole facility disposed
of wastes in a low-lying area astride the properties. The wastes included treated and untreated
wood, sludge, and runoff water from the MacGillis & Gibbs treatment area. Studies show that
soil throughout the two sites and groundwater under the disposal area are contaminated with
the toxic chemicals used in the wood preserving process.
The MacGillis & Gibbs and the Bell Lumber & Pole sites were nominated (as a single 68-acre
site) for inclusion on the EPA's National Priority List (NPL) in 1983. In 1984 the site was
permanently included on the NPL. Bell Lumber & Pole entered into an agreement with the
Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) in 1985 to investigate and clean up its portion
of the site. The contamination migrating from the MacGillis & Gibbs site is being studied under
the auspices of both the EPA and the MPCA Superfund programs.
A2-2
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What is the SITE Program?
The Environmental Protection Agency is trying to find better solutions to hazardous waste
cleanup through its new SITE program, which was created in response to the Superfund
Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986. As a joint effort between EPA's Office of
Research and Development and Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response, the SITE
program conducts carefully planned demonstration projects to test new ways to destroy,
neutralize, or otherwise detoxify hazardous wastes.
EPA will select suitable locations for SITE demonstration projects after a nationwide search to
match promising technologies with the types of wastes and conditions at selected Superfund
sites. During the first two years of the SITE program approximately twenty sites across the
country were proposed to test various technologies. MacGillis & Gibbs is one of the sites
nominated for pilot testing of two innovative treatment technologies.
SITE
Demonstration Area
MacGillis
& Gibbs
MacGillis Disposal Site
Bell Pole Disposal Site
Location of SITE
Demonstration at the
MacGillis & Gibbs Site
A2-3
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Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) is assisting the EPA in evaluating the
BioTrol technologies. For the demonstrations at the MacGillis & Gibbs site, SAIC will sample
and analyze the materials before and after treatment, and monitor operating parameters such
as temperature, flow rates, and power consumption. Finally, SAIC will help the EPA conduct
a performance and cost assessment for each demonstration to determine whether the technol-
ogy is feasible for use at Superfund sites.
What Technologies Will Be Demonstrated at the MacGillis & Gibbs Site?
The EPA is evaluating the BioTrol Soil Treatment System (BSTS) and the BioTrol Aqueous
Treatment System (BATS). The BSTS is a volume reduction step for treatment of contaminated
soils. During the BSTS process, the larger particles of the soil (the sand) are separated from the
smaller soil particles (silt and clay) where the contaminants concentrate. The BATS, a
microbiological treatment process for destroying toxic organics, will be tested for cleanup of
contaminated groundwater from under the MacGillis & Gibbs site. The BATS will also be used
to degrade the toxic organics in the wastewater from the BSTS test. The objective of both
treatment technologies is to produce nonhazardous materials for disposal.
Which Contaminants Will Be Treated During the SITE Demonstrations?
The BSTS will be tested on soils contaminated with wood treating chemicals including penta,
polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) present in creosote, and copper, chromium, and
arsenic (from the CCA solution). It is expected that the BSTS will remove penta, PAHs, and the
CCA metals from the sand portion of the soil. The BATS will be tested on water contaminated
with penta and PAHs, both of which are expected to be removed.
Will the Proposed Demonstrations Interfere with the Studies Currently Being Conducted?
The investigations underway as a result of EPA and MPCA Superfund activities will not be
delayed or disrupted by the SITE demonstrations. In fact, the SITE data will prove useful in
evaluating treatment alternatives for the MacGillis & Gibbs site and selecting the remedial
action.
How Does the BioTrol Soils Treatment System Work?
The BSTS operates on the principle that most of the contaminants present at the site are
associated with the silt and clay particles and that removal of these particles leaves the rest of
the soil (mostly sand particles) relatively clean. Thus, the BSTS is a waste volume reduction
technology. It produces a smaller, more easily treated, amount of hazardous waste. First,
excavated soils will be passed through a large screen to remove debris. Next, the soil will be
mixed with water to form a slurry. The resulting slurry will be screened again and subjected
to a series of intensive scrubbing and physical separation steps in a multi-stage washing circuit.
The slurry will be separated into a washed sand and a silt and clay slurry containing most of
the contamination.
Some of the contaminated silt and clay produced by the BSTS will be further treated
biologically by a technology jointly developed by BioTrol and EIMCO Process Equipment
Company. The EIMCO Bio-Slurry Reactor (EBSR) will biodegrade the contaminants
concentrated in the silt and clay, producing a treated silt and clay.
The BSTS performance will be assessed with soils having two different penta concentrations:
about 200-500 ppm, and about 1500-2000 ppm. The system will be tested during continuous
24-hour operation. About 75 tons of contaminated soil will be treated during the 6-8 week SITE
A2-4
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demonstration. Because the EBSR is built on a smaller scale than the BSTS, only part of the silt
and clay from the BSTS will be treated. Altogether, the soil treatment tests will produce about
62 tons of washed sand, 18 tons of contaminated silt and clay, 4 tons of washed and biologically
treated silt and clay, and 8 tons of wood particles. The increase in total weight of material
results from water added during the treatment. The residuals from the treatment system,
including the washed sand, the contaminated silt and clay, and the biologically treated silt and
clay, will be stored in drums at the site for disposal as part of the Superfund cleanup, or for
disposal offsite as a hazardous waste. The washed sand and biologically treated silt and clay
may be disposable of fsite as nonhazardous waste.
All wastewater produced by the soil treatment system will be treated in the BATS reactor,
where contaminants will be broken down by naturally occurring bacteria. If the treated
wastewater meets local standards, it will be discharged to the sanitary sewer for treatment and
disposal.
During 1988, a pilot test of this technology was conducted at the MacGillis & Gibbs site. The
mobile pilot system, treating up to 500 pounds of soil per hour, demonstrated removal of 85
to 99 percent of the penta and PAHs from the contaminated soil. From 73 to 83 percent of the
original soil was recovered as washed sand. The favorable results of this pilot test indicate that
the proposed SITE demonstration should be successful.
Excavate
Contaminated
Soil
Screen
Slurry
Multi-Stage
Washing
Circuit
Washed
Sand
I
Oversize
Debris
Recycle
Contami-
nated
Water
Clean
Water
Contami-
nated
Silt/Clay
Dewater
Treated
Silt/Clay
The BioTrol Soil Treatment System (BSTS)
A2-5
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How Does the BioTrol Aqueous Treatment System Work?
The BATS is a microbiological system, consisting of a layer of naturally occurring microbes
growing on plastic support material in tanks, used for degrading toxic organic compounds in
water. Under the planned SITE demonstration, BioTrol will apply the BATS process to
removing the penta and PAHs from the groundwater underlying the MacGillis & Gibbs site.
The contaminated groundwater may require pretreatment, such as oil/water separation (to
remove floating oil) or flocculation and settling (to remove suspended solids), before passing
through the BATS. The pH of the water (a measure of acidity) will be adjusted and inorganic
nutrients will be added. These additions help to optimize the performance of the microbes
used in the process. In the BATS bioreactor, BioTrol adds a specific naturally occurring
microorganism to the microbes which already exist in the groundwater. This combination of
microbes rapidly degrades the penta and PAHs into carbon dioxide, water, and inorganic
chloride, which are harmless products. A bag filter will be used to capture the excess biomass
which exits the bioreactor. This material consists of microbes, both alive and dead, which
detach from the supports and are flushed out with the water stream. The bag filter will be
replaced periodically. The small amount of residuals from the BATS, including separated oil,
flocculated and settled solids, and bag filters containing biomass, will be stored in drums at the
site for disposal as part of the Superfund cleanup, or properly disposed of offsite as hazardous
wastes.
The SITE demonstration for the BATS will last about 60 days. A maximum of 400,000 gallons
of groundwater will be treated during the test. This treated water will be further treated with
carbon to remove any remaining contaminants. The water will either be recycled to MacGillis
& Gibbs for use in their treatment process or sent to the sanitary sewer for treatment and
disposal.
In a nine-month groundwater treatment test conducted at the adjacent Bell Lumber & Pole site
from September, 1986 to May, 1987, the BATS process successfully reduced 60-100 ppm levels
t
-\
Waste
Solids *
J
r
Contamined
Water
V .>
Bag
_ Filtrr ^
(Optional)
t
r ^
Clean
Water
V 1
Oil/V
»» SPD;
(Opt
\
Vater
arator
onal)
'
f Waste
Oil
V J
BATS
Bioreactor
Flocci
, ,. ^ and S
(Opt
Nutrient Add
and
pH Adjust m
jlatior
ettling
onal)
tion
ent
The BioTrol Aqueous Treatment System (BATS)
A2-6
-------
of penta to less than 5 ppm in the treated water. At times, the residual penta was reduced to
less than 0.5 ppm. PAH levels of 12 ppm were reduced to 0.5 ppm. The favorable results of
this pilot test indicate that the proposed SITE demonstration should be successful.
Have Potential Environmental Effects of the Demonstration Testing Been Evaluated?
Potential effects on air quality, water quality, wetlands and other environmentally sensitive
areas, and on threatened or endangered animals or plants have been evaluated. No adverse
effects on human health or the environment will be caused by either of the two technologies
being demonstrated.
Who Will Be at the Public Meeting?
In accordance with EPA policy, a public meeting has been scheduled for April 12,1989 at 7:30
PM. Representatives from MPCA, EPA, BioTrol, Inc., and SAIC will be present to explain the
proposed SITE demonstrations, and answer any questions that might be raised during the
meeting. The general public is invited, including the citizens of New Brighton, environmental
groups, and other interested parties.
When is the Public Comment Period?
The MPCA and EPA invite comments on the information presented in this Fact Sheet, as well
as any materials discussed during the public meeting. The public comment period will end on
May 10,1989. Written comments should be addressed to:
Minnesota Pollution Control Agency
520 Lafayette Road
St. Paul, MN 55155
Attn: Susan Brustman
Who Can I Contact with Questions about the SITE'Demonstrations?
Susan M. Brustman Mary K. Stinson
Public Information Officer Chemical Engineer
Minnesota Pollution Control Agency Releases Control Branch
520 Lafayette Road Risk Reduction Engineering Laboratory
St. Paul, MN 55155 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(612) 296-7769 Woodbridge Avenue (MS-104)
Edison, NJ 08837-3679
(201)321-6683
Rhonda E. McBride Morris J. Anderson
Remedial Project Manager Vice President, Regulatory and
CERCLA Enforcement Section, Region V Governmental Affairs
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency BioTrol, Inc.
230 South Dearborn Street 11 Peavey Road
Chicago, IL 60604 Chaska, MN 55318
(312) 886-7242 (612) 448-2515
A2-7
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APPENDIX 3. SAMPLE DEMONSTRATION
BULLETIN
A3-1
-------
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
SUPERFUND INNOVATIVE
TECHNOLOGY EVALUATION
EPA/540/M5-89/011
October 1989
Demonstration Bulletin
Solidification/Stabilization Process
Chemfix Technologies, Inc.
TECHNOLOGY DESCRIPTION:The Chemfix tech-
nology is a patented solidification/stabilization process
for treating hazardous wastes. Proprietary reagent
additives may include soluble silicates and silicate-
setting materials. The process is designed as a
continuous operation capable of treating large
quantities of wastes rapidly. The products of the
process are intended to be stable, friable materials
with good erosion resistance and low permeabilities.
In addition, the process is intended to treat the
material without a large increase in volume.
After the contaminated material is excavated and
screened to remove pieces larger than 1 inch, a
conveyer belt moves it from the feed hopper to the
weight feeder, where it is measured. The homog-
enizer mixes the wastes with water to achieve the
desired moisture content. The wetted material then
moves to a Chemfix-designed pug mill, where it is
blended with the proprietary reagents. After the
material is thoroughly mixed, it is discharged and
allowed to harden. The final product is a solidified
mass.
WASTE APPLICABILITY: This process is designed to
treat soils, sludges, and waste waters. It has been
used for a variety of industrial wastes contaminated
with heavy metals and organic compounds with high
molecular weight.
Hopper With Even Feeder
Conveyor
WWW Supply
(H required)
AUrmt end Control
PenelNo. 1
©
Chute to Truck Loading Area
Figure 1. High solids handling system block process flow diagram.
A3-2
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DEMONSTRATION RESULTS: EPA and the devel-
oper demonstrated this solidification/stabilization
process at the Portable Equipment Salvage Company
site in Clackamas, Oregon during March, 1989. The
site had been used for the scrapping and recycling of
transformers and metal equipment. Although the soil
at the site is contaminated with a variety of pollutants,
the contaminants of concern for this demonstration
were lead, copper, and PCBs because they were
found in the highest concentrations in the preliminary
round of sampling. The equipment utilized was
capable of processing soils at a rate of up to 100 tons
per hour.
Several leaching and extraction tests were conducted
on products of the solidification/stabilization process to
indicate the long-term stability of the processed
material.
The toxicity characteristic leaching procedure (TCLP)
extracts from processed wastes contained lead in
concentrations 94 to 99 percent less than in leachate
extracts of untreated wastes. Table 1 presents a
summary of the results of the TCLP tests for lead and
copper.
No conclusions could be derived regarding PCB
immobilization since the concentrations of PCB in the
initial TCLP extracts were extremely low. PCB extrac-
tion data does show evidence of partial dechlonnation
of the PCBs. However, the phenomenon may not be
due to the solidification/stabilization process only.
The wet/dry and freeze/thaw durability tests were very
good, showing little or no weight loss after 12 cycles.
The unconfined compressive strength (DCS) at 28
days ranged from 27 to 307 psi. Permeability of the
treated material ranged between 1 x 10-6 cm/sec and
6.4 x 10~7 cm/sec. Table 2 presents a summary of
these results of the physical tests and other chemical
tests.
Other results of the demonstration include the
following:
The volume increase in the excavated waste
material after treatment ranged from 20 to 50
percent.
The air monitoring data suggest that there was no
significant volatilization of PCBs during the
treatment process.
A Demonstration Report describing the complete
demonstration will be complete in early 1990.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION.
EPA Project Manager
Ed Barth
U.S. EPA
Risk Reduction Engineering Laboratory
26 West Martin Luther King Drive
Cincinnati, OH 45268
513-569-7669 (FTS: 684-7669)
Table 1. Mean Concentrations of Concern from Chemfix
Demonstration
Area A
Lead
Copper
AreaC
Lead
Copper
Area E
Lead
Copper
AreaF
Lead
Copper
Untreated
Waste
(Total)
21 ,000 mg/kg
18,000 mg/kg
140,000 mg/kg
1 8,000 mg/kg
92,000 mg/kg
74,000 mg/kg
1 1 ,000 mg/kg
33,000 mg/kg
TCLP From
Untreated
Waste
610 mg/L
45 mg/L
880 mg/L
12 mg/L
740 mg/L
120 mg/L
390 mg/L
120 mg/L
TCLP From
Treated
Waste
< .05 mg/L
0.57 mg/L
2.5 mg/L
0.54 mg/L
47 mg/L
0.65 mg/L
0.10 mg/L
0.60 mg/L
Percent
Reduction
of TCLP
Extr actable
Metal
99
99
99
95
94
99
99
99
Table 2. Physical and Chemical Properties of
Treated and Untreated Wastes from
Area C of Chemifx Demonstration
Area C
Eh (millivolts)
Conductivity (umhos/cm)
PH
28-day UCS (psi)
Wet/dry stress weight loss
Freeze/thaw stress weight
loss
Permeability (cm/sec)
Untreated
Wastes
290
130
6.6
N/A
N/A
N/A
10"* to 10-8
Treated
Wastes
24
3200
11,3-11.5
27-307
<1%
<1%
10-8 to 10'7
A3-3
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APPENDIX 4. LIST OF ACRONYMS,
ABBREVIATIONS, AND TRADE NAMES
A4-1
-------
ACRONYMS
AETS
ATS
ATTIC
BBS
BDAT
CERCLA
CERI
COLIS
CRF
CROW
DCA
DOE
ORE
EMSL-LV
EPA
BSD
FTIR
GAC
HAZWRAP
HR-FT-IR
HSWA
INEL
ISV
LSCD
MMTP
NPL
NTIS
Acid Extraction Treatment System
Aqueous Treatment System
Alternative Treatment Technology Information Center
Bulletin Board System
Best Demonstrated and Available Technology
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act
Center for Environmental Research Information
Computerized On-Line Information System
Combustion Research Facility
Contained Recovery of Oily Waste
1,1-Dichloroethane
Department of Energy
Destruction and Removal Efficiency
Environmental Monitoring Systems Laboratory - Las Vegas
Environmental Protection Agency
Electroacoustic Soil Decontamination
Fourier Transform Infrared
Granular Activated Carbon
Hazardous Waste Remedial Actions Program
High Resolution Fourier - Transform Infrared
Hazardous Solid Waste Amendments
Idaho National Engineering Laboratory
In-Situ Vitrification
Liquid-Solid Contact Digestion
Monitoring and Measurement Technologies Program
National Priorities List
National Technical Information Service
A4-2
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ORD Office of Research and Development
OSHA Occupational Safety and Health Act
OSWER Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response
PAHs Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons
PCBs Polychlorinated Biphenyls
PCPs Pentachlorophenols
POHCs Principal Organic Hazardous Constituents
PRPs Potentially Responsible Parties
QA/QC Quality Assurance/Quality Control
RCRA Resource Conservation and Recovery Act
R&D Research and Development
RD&D Research, Development, and Demonstration
RFP Request for Proposal
ROD Record of Decision
RREL Risk Reduction Engineering Laboratory
SARA Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act
S ARMs Standard Analytical Reference Materials
SITE Superfund Innovative Technology Evaluation
TCA 1,1,1-Trichloroethane
TCE Trichloroethylene
TCLP Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure
TEA Triethylamine
TIX Technical Information Exchange
TSCA Toxic Substances Control Act
DCS Unconfmed Compressive Strengths
UV Ultraviolet
VOCs Volatile Organic Compounds
A4-3
-------
cm
dscf
dscm
kg
Ibs
mg
mg/1
mm
NOX
ppb
ppm
psi
sec
AlgaSORBR
B.E.S.T.
CHEMFIX
TM
Chemtact
Chloranan
Oberlin
PACT*
PYRETRONR
TM
Tyvek
UltroxR
URRICHEM
X*TRAX
ABBREVIATIONS
Centimeter
Dry Standard Cubic Feet
Dry Standard Cubic Meter
Kilogram
Pounds
Milligram
Milligram/Liter
Millimeter
Nitrous Oxides
Parts Per Billion
Parts Per Million
Pounds Per Square Inch
Second
TRADE NAMES
Basic Extraction Sludge Treatment
Powdered Activated Carbon Treatment
A4-4
KU.S. Government Printing Office. 1990-748-159/00439
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