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Glass Furnace
Technology
Feasibility Study
Vitrification vs.
Incineration
Technologies > Glass Furnace Technology > Glass Furnace Technology Feasibility Study
Glass Furnace Technology Feasibility Study
Lower Fox River Background
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has mandated an environmental cleanup plan for the Lower Fox River in order to remove sediment contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), chemicals used by local industry in the mid-1950s to early 1970s. The cleanup plan includes dredging more than 7 million cubic yards of river sediment contaminated with PCBs.
Minergy Corp. has been working with WDNR and EPA to determine the feasibility of using vitrification to dispose of the sediment dredged from the river. The most significant advantage of using this technology is that the process destroys virtually all of the PCBs in river sediment.
PCB Destruction
In 1998, Minergy and the DNR began a five-year joint evaluation of the vitrification technology. With funding assistance from EPA Great Lakes National Program Office (GLNPO), WDNR contracted Minergy to conduct the GFT Feasibility Study. Recognizing the extreme scrutiny PCBs have been under and the need for a thorough independent evaluation of contaminant fate, especially during pilot testing phase, WDNR requested assistance from the EPA Superfund Innovative Technology Evaluation (SITE) Program. The SITE Program agreed to undertake an independent evaluation of cost and treatment effectiveness for this project. This evaluation included a four-phase feasibility study. As a final part of the study, WDNR and Minergy conducted a sediment melter demonstration project, treating contaminated sediment removed from the Lower Fox River, from May to August of 2001.
The results of the pilot test indicated that PCB-
contaminated river sediment can be successfully
converted
into a vitrified glass aggregate product that
is environmentally acceptable for beneficial reuse. Organic
contaminants such as PCBs are effectively destroyed
during the process, and the GFT process in particular does
not result in formation of dioxin or furans, which was a
concern raised by the local environmental community. Both
environmental and process performance data quality was
acceptable. The performance data is suitable to allow for
scale-up to a larger commercial scale type project. The
SITE analysis concluded the following:
- Greater than 99.9999% destruction of PCBs
- Greater than 99.9% destruction of dioxin
found in river sediment - Less than 0.1% loss of mercury
To view an animation of PCB destruction, click here.
To view a four-minute video summary of the sediment melter demonstration project, click here.
(NOTE: This is an extremely large file; size: 49 mb).
In addition to the GFT Feasibility Study, under contract to WDNR Minergy undertook several other studies to support implementation of the GFT, including:
- An environmental permitting review
- Supplemental sediment handling characterization
- A unit cost study
Collectively these reports, in addition to the Sediment Melter Final Report and data collected by the SITE Program, form the basis for evaluating the cost effectiveness and efficiency of this technology to treat PCB contaminated river sediment. Minergy completed the GFT Feasibility Study, during the comment period of the 2001 Lower Fox River Proposed Remedial Action Plan (PRAP). WDNR subsequently incorporated this information into the final RI/FS by substituting Glass Furnace Technology as the representative process option for remedial alternatives that included sediment treatment. Vitrification is also included as an acceptable alternative to landfill disposal in both Records of Decision (ROD) issued for the Lower Fox River site.
Vitrification of river sediment has been through multiple economic evaluations and cost sensitivity studies. The process is found to be cost-effective when properly designed to the specifications of a sediment processing project. For more details related to economic analysis, please review the Revised Unit Cost Study.
All documents produced under contract to WDNR can be found on our Library page or on WDNR’s Lower Fox River Web site.
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