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PHYSICAL AND ENGINEERING PROPERTIES OF HAZARDOUS INDUSTRIAL WASTES AND SLUDGES
Citation:
Bartos, Jr., M. AND M. Palermo. PHYSICAL AND ENGINEERING PROPERTIES OF HAZARDOUS INDUSTRIAL WASTES AND SLUDGES. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., EPA/600/2-77/139.
Description:
This report presents the results of a laboratory testing program to investigate the properties of raw and chemically fixed hazardous industrial wastes and flue gas desulfurization (FGD) sludges. Specimens of raw and fixed sludges were subjected to a variety of tests commonly used in soils engineering. The grain-size distributions, Atterberg limits, specific gravities, volume-weight-moisture relationships and permeabilities of raw and fixed sludges were determined. Selected fixed sludges were subjected to appropriate engineering properties (compaction and unconfined compression) tests and durability (wet-dry and freeze-thaw) tests. Test results show that fixing can cause significant changes in the properties of sludge, that fixed sludges are similar to soil, soil-cement, or low-strength concrete, and that properties are process-dependent. On the basis of test specimen behavior, fixed sludges can be expected to exhibit substantial engineering strength and suitability for landfill and embankment construction, although the durability tests show that weathering can be a problem unless the fixed sludges are protected by an earth cover.