You are here:
GEOTECH, INC., COLD TOP EX-SITU VITRIFICATION SYSTEM; INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY EVALUATION REPORT
Citation:
Tetra Tech EM Inc. GEOTECH, INC., COLD TOP EX-SITU VITRIFICATION SYSTEM; INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY EVALUATION REPORT. EPA/540/R-97/506 (NTIS PB2000-104206), 2000.
Impact/Purpose:
information
Description:
A Superfund Innovative Technology Evaluation (SITE) technology demonstration was conducted in February and March 1997 to evaluate the Geotech Development Corporation (Geotech) Cold Top ex-situ vitrification technology in chromium-contaminated soils. The demonstration was conducted using the vitrification furnace at Geotech's pilot plant in Niagara Falls, New York, on chromium-contaminated soil from two state Superfund sites in the Jersey City, New Jersey area. During each test, solid and gas samples were collected from various locations in the Cold Top system and analyzed for several chemical and physical parameters. During the demonstration, the Cold Top system treated about 10,000 pounds of soil contaminated with trivalent and hexavalent chromium and other metals. Observational demonstration results showed that the Cold Top system vitrified chromium-contaminated soil from the two New Jersey sites, yielding a product meeting RCRA toxicity characteristic leaching procedure (TCLP) standards. From soil excavated at one of the New Jersey sites, the system yielded potentially recyclable metallic product referred to as "ferrofurnace bottoms" that also met the RCRA TCLP chromium standard. Demonstration results also showed that the chromium content of the vitrified products did not differ significantly from that of the untreated soils, but that the baghouse dusts were higher in chromium content than the untreated soils. Hexavalent chromium concentrations in the untreated soil were generally not detected in the vitrified product and ferrofurnace bottoms. The hexavalent chromium concentration in the baghouse dust was about the same as that in the untreated soil. Analysis of operating costs indicates that Cold Top treatment o chromium-contaminated soil, similar to that treated during the SITE demonstration, is estimated to cost from $83 to $213 per ton, depending on disposal costs and potential credits for sale of the vitrified product.