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TECHNOLOGY EVALUATION REPORT: RETECH'S PLASMA CENTRIFUGAL FURNACE - VOLUME I
Citation:
U.S. EPA. TECHNOLOGY EVALUATION REPORT: RETECH'S PLASMA CENTRIFUGAL FURNACE - VOLUME I. EPA/540/5-91/007a (NTIS 92-216035), 1991.
Impact/Purpose:
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Description:
A demonstration of the Retech, Inc. Plasma Centrifugal Furnace (PCF) was conducted under the Superfund Innovative Technology Evaluation (SITE) Program at the Department of Energy's (DOE's) Component Development and Integration Facility in Butte, Montana. The furnace uses heat generated from a plasma arc to melt and vitrify solid feed material. The feed soil was a mixture of Silver Bow Creek soil and 10% by weight No. 2 diesel oil, spiked to provide 28,000 ppm zinc oxide and 1000 ppm hexachlorobenzene In the soil/oil mixture. Pre-treatment soil and scrubber liquor/makeup sampling was performed to characterize the material Inputs to the process. Following treatment, the vitrified soil, scrubber liquor, and stack gas were sampled to determine the technology's suitability for use in destroying and immobilizing contaminants in the test soil. The results from this test were used to draw conclusions on the technology. The following conclusions were derived from the test results: 1) the treated soil did not leach any metals at levels above the regulatory limits; (2) the process achieved a Destruction and Removal Efficiency (DRE) of greater than 99.99% for the Principal Organic Hazardous Constituent (POHC); (3) the air pollution control system did not reduce the level of particulate emissions to below the RCRA limit; (4) a high percentage of the metals fed to the furnace are encapsulated in the treated soil; (5) the PCF is advantageous over other incinerator technologies in that it can successfully immobilize heavy metals in the slag however, this treatment option can be more expensive than conventional incineration.