$EPA
United States	Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response
Environmental Protection	Office of Research and Development
Agency	Washington, DC 20460
April 1994
PROGRAM FACT SHEET
Demonstration of the Sonotech, Inc.
Frequency-Tunable Pulse Combustion System
(CELLO® Pulse Burner)
Introduction
The U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) identifies new methods for
hazardous waste cleanup through its
Superfund Innovative Technology
Evaluation (SITE) Program. Created in
1986, this program demonstrates and
evaluates innovative treatment
technologies that may significantly reduce
the toxicity, mobility, or volume of
hazardous waste. The SITE Program also
generates reliable performance and cost
information on the technologies for use
in evaluating cleanup alternatives for
similarly contaminated sites.
The technology proposed for
demonstration is the frequency-tunable
pulse combustion system. It was
developed by Sonotech, Inc. (Sonotech),
of Atlanta, Georgia and is registered by
the developer as the CELLO® Pulse
Burner. For this demonstration, twenty
55-gallon drums of coal tar sludge waste
were transported from the Peoples Natural
Gas Company Superfund site in Dubuque,
Iowa to EPA's Incineration Research
Facility (IRF) in Jefferson, Arkansas
where it will be treated. The purpose of
the demonstration is to determine if the
frequency-tunable pulse combustion
system improves the incineration of
hazardous waste when retrofitted to an
existing rotary kiln incinerator.
EPA's SITE Program
Each year, EPA solicits proposals from
private technology developers to
demonstrate innovative technologies
under the SITE Program. For each
technology selected, EPA does the
following, often with input from state and
regional agencies:
Identifies a site with wastes suitable
for treatment
Prepares a technology Quality
Assurance Project Plan (QAPP)
Notifies appropriate agencies for
intergovernmental and community
reviews
•	Prepares a fact sheet for the public,
describing the site and technology
•	Prepares the demonstration site, or in
this case, transports waste to the
demonstration site
•	Conducts and audits field sampling
and laboratory analyses
Organizes a Visitors' Day for the
public to view the technology
demonstration
Evaluates technology performance
• Prepares an Innovative Technology
Evaluation Report (ITER) summa-
rizing the demonstration results, as
well as a technology capsule, dem-
onstration bulletin, and a videotape
Site History
The Peoples Natural Gas Company
Superfund site is located in Dubuque,
Iowa, and it covers almost 5 acres.
From 1910 until 1954, Key City Gas
Company owned and operated the facility,
using it to manufacture a natural gas
substitute from coal. The North Central
Public Service Company bought the
property in 1954 and took over facility
operations. In 1957, the Peoples Natural
Gas Company purchased the site and used
it as a natural gas distribution, storage,
and maintenance facility. Peoples Natural
Gas Company has since sold the site
property to the City of Dubuque, which
uses the property as a municipal garage.
The city sold the western one-third of the
site to the Iowa Department of
Transportation, where an extension of
Highway 61 was built.
Waste products from the gas
manufacturing process included spent
iron oxide and coal tar sludges. Over
the years, about 5,400 cubic yards of spent
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iron oxide wastes were deposited in the
northeastern section of the site.
Coal tar sludges were either sold or
disposed of on site in pits or accumulated
in the bottoms of tar and gas holder tanks.
Two coal tar waste tanks, one 7,000-
gallon aboveground tank and one 14,000-
gallon underground tank were used at the
site. Both tanks have been removed;
however, there is evidence of
contamination and migration of wastes
from the underground tank.
In 1986, EPA conducted an expanded site
inspection (ESI) at the site. Results
indicated that the soil and groundwater
were contaminated with phenol, cyanide,
and polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons.
A remedial investigation and feasibility
study (RI/FS) (which included a
monitoring program to determine the
extent of groundwater contamination and
evaluation of the soil contamination on
the eastern part of the site) was completed
in 1990. Cleanup activities began at the
site in July 1990 under Superfund
Removal Authority. Midwest Gas, a
division of Midwest Power Systems, Inc.,
is conducting the cleanup. Contaminated
soil at the site is being excavated and
removed for off-site incineration.
Technology Description
The Sonotech frequency-tunable pulse
combustion system works in conjunction
with incineration to destroy hazardous
waste (see Figure 1). Incineration of
contaminated solid wastes, such as soil,
involves several steps. First, heat
volatilizes hazardous organics from the
contaminated medium and pyrolyzes the
waste. Then, the released vapors mix and
react with available oxygen.
The pulse combustion burner accelerates
the steps which control the incineration
process; it consists of an air inlet, a
combustion section, a tailpipe, a control
panel, and a safety system. The
combustion and heat-release processes
vary with time and produce a periodic
variation of pressure, temperature, and
velocity within the combustor. If properly
used, the pulse combustor can cause large-
amplitude, resonant pulsations within the
incinerator. These pulsations can increase
the mixing rate, the heat transfer of the
incinerator, and the treatment rate of the
waste.
To create these pulsations inside an
incinerator, the pulse combustor must
operate at the same frequency as one of
the natural acoustic mode frequencies of
the incinerator. When this condition is
satisfied, the pulsations are said to be in
resonance. Resonance is achieved by
retrofitting a frequency-tunable pulse
combustion system to a wall of the
incinerator and varying its frequency until
one of the natural acoustic modes of the
incinerator is obtained.
The pulse combustion burner can be used
alone or in combination with a
conventional burner. In either case, the
primary function of the pulse combustion
burner is to create the large-amplitude,
resonant pulsations.
Sonotech claims the pulse combustion
system has the following advantages:
Lower carbon monoxide (CO), soot,
and oxides of nitrogen (NOx)
emissions. The high mixing, mass,
and heat transfer rates within the
incinerator produce complete
combustion, which almost eliminates
CO and soot production. Also, the
increased mixing and improved heat
transfer minimize NOx emissions.
• Lower combustion air requirements.
The improved mixing within the
incinerator reduces the amount of air
required for complete combustion.
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Lower energy requirements. The
improved heat transfer with the
process increases the rate of drying
and heating the waste, which may
increase the burn rate and reduce the
required fuel input into the system.
Higher incinerator capacity. The
increase in mixing, mass, and heat
transfer rates produced by the
pulsations within the incinerator
accelerate the transfer of heat and
oxygen to the burning waste and
speed up the oxidation of vapors, as
well as intermediate combustion
compounds such as CO. This
shortens the burning time so that
waste feed rate can increase.
Reduced severity of transient puffs.
The improved mixing, mass, and heat
transfer within the incinerator reduce
temperature and concentration
inconsistencies within the process,
resulting in more uniform
incineration. Oxygen can mix and
react rapidly with the surrounding
gases before leaving the system,
reducing the occurrence of transient
puffs.
Lower costs. Lower combustion air
requirements, lower energy
requirements, and higher incinerator
capacity result in reduced capital and
operating costs.
This technology can be used to treat any
material, including contaminated soil, that
can be treated in a conventional
incinerator.
Technology Demonstration
The Sonotech demonstration will occur at
the ERF in Jefferson, Arkansas (see Figure
2) from May to June 1994. For this
demonstration, waste was collected from
the Peoples Natural Gas Company site in
Dubuque, Iowa during September 1993.
In order to improve handling
characteristics, waste coal-tar sludge from
the site was mixed with granular coal in
a 1:2 ratio. Twenty 55-gallon drums of
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Figure 2: IRFLocation
this waste sludge mix were shipped to the
EPA IRF for the demonstration.
The IRF provides pilot-scale research data
on thermal destruction of actual
hazardous wastes. IRF is fully permitted
to test the entire range of RCRA
hazardous wastes and has extensive on-
site capabilities to characterize waste and
evaluate process samples. Incineration
is the only hazardous waste treatment
process currently permitted at the IRF.
A pilot-scale incinerator, the rotary kiln
incineration system (RKS), is housed at
the IRF. For the SITE demonstration, the
RKS will be retrofitted with Sonotech's
frequency-tunable pulse combustion
system.
Primary objectives for the demonstration
are to determine whether the Sonotech
pulse combustion technology results in:
Decreased flue gas CO emissions
Decreased flue gas NOx emissions
Decreased flue gas soot emissions
Increased destruction and removal
efficiency (DRE) of principal organic
hazardous compounds (POHCs)
Increased incinerator throughput
Secondary objectives for the
demonstration are to determine whether
the Sonotech pulse combustion
technology results in:
Reducing the magnitudes of transient
puff CO and total unburned hydro-
carbons (TUHC)
Reduced incineration costs
Changes in the distribution of haz-
ardous constituent trace metals
among the incineration system's resi-
due streams (kiln bottom ash, scrub-
ber liquor, baghouse fly ash, and
baghouse exit flue gas)

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• Changes in the teachability of the
toxicity characteristic leaching pro-
cedure (TCLP) trace metals from kiln
bottom ash, scrubber liquor, and
baghouse fly ash
EPA has prepared a detailed QAPP
outlining methods and procedures for
testing and evaluating the technology.
When the demonstration is complete, the
findings will be compiled and analyzed
in an ITER, technology capsule, and
demonstration bulletin. These reports will
be used to evaluate alternatives for
cleaning up sites with similar wastes
across the country.
Public Involvement
During this SITE demonstration, the
public is invited to attend a Visitors' Day
scheduled to be held on June 8, 1994. The
Visitors' Day will enable the community
to become familiar with the SITE
Program, the IRF, and the Sonotech
technology. To attend the Visitors' Day,
complete the enclosed registration form.
Additional Information
Questions or comments about the
proposed demonstration, the SITE
Program, or the IRF should be directed
to:
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
and Incineration Research Facility
Marta K. Richards
SITE Project Manager
Risk Reduction Engineering1
Laboratory
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
26 West Martin Luther King Dr.
Cincinnati, OH 45268
513-569-7692
Questions about the technology should be
directed to:
Sonotech. Inc.
Zin Playnik
Sonotech, Inc.
575 Travis St., NW
Atlanta, GA 30318
404-525-8530
Questions about the Peoples Natural Gas
Company site should be directed to:
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Bill W. Bunn
Remedial Project Manager
U.S. EPA, Region 7
726 Minnesota Avenue
Kansas City, KS 66101
913-551-7792
4* EPA

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

26 West Martin Luther King Drive

Cincinnati, Ohio 45268

Attention: Marta K. Richards


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