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DISPOSAL OF FLUE GAS DESULFURIZATION WASTES: EPA SHAWNEE FIELD EVALUATION
Citation:
Hurt, P., P. Leo, J. Rossoff, AND J. Witz. DISPOSAL OF FLUE GAS DESULFURIZATION WASTES: EPA SHAWNEE FIELD EVALUATION. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., EPA/600/7-81/103.
Description:
The report summarizes results of the flue gas desulfurization (FGD) waste disposal field evaluation project sponsored by EPA at TVA's Shawnee steam plant, Paducah, KY. This pilot-scale project, initiated in 1974 and completed in September 1980, evaluated methods and costs for disposing of wastes produced from wet non-regenerable scrubbing of SO2 from coal-fired utility-boiler flue gases. The environmental effects of various disposal techniques were studied, including evaluations of untreated, chemically treated, and oxidized wastes utilizing lime or limestone scrubber absorbents. Because water quality and land reclamation are of principal interest, leachate, supernate, runoff, and ground water were analyzed, and physical properties of the wastes were evaluated. No measurable effect on ground water quality at the disposal site was detected during the program. Chemical treatment and underdrainage of untreated waste yielded structurally sound materials. Cost-effective and environmentally sound disposal methods for FGD wastes and slurried gypsum appear to be ponding with underdrainage and chemical treatment/landfilling of the FGD waste. Disposal costs for these methods range from about 0.8 to 1.5 mills/kWh, based on a high-sulfur (e.g., 3%) coal application.