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RESOURCES CONSERVATIONS COMPANY - B.E.S.T. SOLVENT EXTRACTION TECHNOLOGY - APPLICATIONS ANALYSIS REPORT
Citation:
Wagner*, T. RESOURCES CONSERVATIONS COMPANY - B.E.S.T. SOLVENT EXTRACTION TECHNOLOGY - APPLICATIONS ANALYSIS REPORT. EPA/540/AR-92/079 (NTIS 94-105434), 1993.
Impact/Purpose:
information.
Description:
This document is an evaluation of the performance of the Resources Conservation Company (RCC) Basic Extractive Sludge Treatment (B.E.S.T.®) solvent extraction technology and its applicability as a treatment technique for soils, sediments, and sludges contaminated with organics. Both the technical and economic aspects of the technology are examined. A demonstration of the RCC B.E.S.T.® solvent extraction system was conducted from July 1, 1992 to July 22, 1992 using RCC’s pilot-scale unit to treat two composited sediments (Sediment A and Sediment B) collected from the Grand Calumet River. Operational data and sampling and analysis information were carefully compiled to establish a database against which other available data, as well as the vendor’s claims for the technology, could be compared and evaluated. Conclusions were reached concerning the technology’s suitability for use in removing organic contaminants from sediment. The following conclusions are based on the demonstration test results collected by the Superfund Innovative Technology EvaluatIon (SITE) Program and supported by other available data, including demonstration test data collected by RCC: • Contaminant concentration reductions of 96 percent for total polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and greater than 99 percent of total polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were achieved for Sediment A. Contaminant concentration reductions of greater than 99 percent for total PAHs and greater than 99 percent for total PCBs were achieved for Sediment B. • Removal efficiencies in excess of 98 percent were realized for both sediments for oil and grease. • Mass balances conducted for total materials (including triethylamine) in the B.E.S.T.® system achieved closures of 99.3 percent and 99.6 percent for Sediment A and Sediment B, respectively. Mass balances comparing feed and product streams (excluding triethylamine) achieved closures of 108 percent and 114 percent for Sediment A and Sediment B, respectively. • The products generated using the B.E.S.T.® process compared favorably with RCC’s claims with regard to residual triethylamine concentrations. Treated solids produced during the optimum treatment runs for Sediment B had an average triethylamine concentration of 103 mg/kg. Water generated during these runs had a triethylamine concentration of 2.2 mg/L or less, while the oil product collected at the end of all Sediment B treatment runs had a triethylamine concentration of 733 mg/kg. Because very little oil product was generated during the treatment of Sediment A, the Sediment A oil product was not processed to reduce its triethylamine concentration. Solid product generated from the optimum treatment runs for Sediment A realized an average residual concentration of 45.1 mg/kg, while water products from the optimum treatment runs for Sediment A had triethylamine concentrations of 1.0 mg/L or less. • The treatment cost for the remediation of contaminated soil, sediment, or sludge using the proposed 186-ton-per- day, full-scale B.E.S.T.® system is estimated at $94 per ton if the system is on line 80 percent of the time or $112 per ton if the system is on line 60 percent of the time.