Grantee Research Project Results
Innovative Hazardous Fly Ash and Industrial Process Dust Vitrification Technology
EPA Contract Number: 68D00035Title: Innovative Hazardous Fly Ash and Industrial Process Dust Vitrification Technology
Investigators: Olix, W. Francis
Small Business: Vortec Corporation
EPA Contact: Richards, April
Phase: I
Project Period: July 1, 1990 through February 1, 1991
Project Amount: $49,985
RFA: Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) - Phase I (1990) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Hazardous Waste/Remediation , SBIR - Waste , Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)
Description:
The disposal of all types of wastes, municipal, medical, and industrial, is a significant and increasing problem facing the world environment today. Most of the waste being gener- ated is currently being landfilled, however, as many as one- third of the currently active landfills could reach capacity in the next four years. As the capacity of the landfills decreases and the landfilling costs increase, incineration becomes an attractive means of volume reduction. However, one byproduct of the incineration process, flyash, contains a high concentration of heavy metals which have to be disposed of in hazardous waste landfills at a significant increase in cost to the incinerator operators and, ultimately, the public. Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) incinerators alone produce approximately 450,000 to 800,000 tons of flyash annually. Disposal of this flyash in hazardous waste landfills could cost from $100 millon to $800 million annually, depending on the location of the landfills.The development of an advanced flyash/dust vitrification system is proposed as a means of eliminating the flyash disposal problem associated with incineration. The technol- ogy being proposed is based on advanced in-flight suspension glass melting technology being developed by Vortec Cor- poration for the U.S. Department of Energy.
Phase I of the development program will verify the technical and economic feasibility of flyash vitrification in an ad- vanced cyclone melting system via testing with a pilot-scale facility. The system will vitrify the material in such a manner as to produce a product which will meet the criteria for disposal in a non-hazardous landfill and may have a commercial value.
Supplemental Keywords:
RFA, Scientific Discipline, Air, Waste, Hazardous, Chemical Engineering, Civil/Environmental Engineering, Municipal, Environmental Chemistry, Engineering, Chemistry, & Physics, Incineration/Combustion, Hazardous Waste, Environmental Engineering, heavy metals, incineration, dust vitrification technology, hazardous waste disposal, fly ash, incinerator ashProgress and Final Reports:
The perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.