INDIRECT THERMAL DESORPTION OF PCB CONTAMINATED SOIL AT THE INDUSTRIAL LATEX SUPERFUND SITE WALLINGTON, NJ, USA

摘要

The indirect thermal desorption technology was the remedy selected by USEPA Region II, for the Industrial Latex Superfund Site located in the Borough of Wallington, New Jersey, USA. The US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) selected Environmental Chemical Corporation (ECC) to design, construct, and operate an innovative, indirectly heated thermal desorption system to treat approximately 60,000 cubic yards of soil contaminated with PCBs and bis(2-ethyhexl)phthalate. The process heats the soil to vaporize the contaminants, and is followed by an air pollution control system based on condensation and filtration of the vaporized off-gas. The start-up and permitting process presented a multitude of challenges for all parties involved. A unique approach to problem identification and resolution was developed, and a good working relationship with the permit-ting agency (New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection -NJDEP) was established. This approach allowed ECC and USACE to avoid the costly delays normally associated with the start-up and permitting of thermal treatment units. This paper identifies the techniques of start-up testing, verification testing, and permitting that resulted in an expedited permitting process and allowed the project to move forward to treat over 60,000 cubic yards of contaminated soil, to a treatment goal of less than 1 part per million PCBs. The thermal treatment unit has achieved better than 75% overall on-line availability in less than 7 months of operations.