Engineering-Scale DC Arc Furnace Testing Summary

DISCLAIMER This report was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United States Government. Neither the United States Government nor any agency thereof, nor Battelle Memorial Institute, nor any of their employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government or any agency thereof, or Battelle Memorial Institute. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government or any agency thereof. Those three organizations pooled their efforts in order to demonstrate the technology using the graphite electrode DC arc furnace for treatment hazardous waste. Electro-Pyrolysis, Inc., the industrial participant, currently provides the DC arc technology on a commercial basis, in connection with its licensee Svedala Industries, Inc. through its Pyro-Systems Division. iii Summary This report gives a summary of all engineering-scale direct current (DC) arc furnace testing activities conducted in support of Technology Task Plan (TTP) RL3-6-MW-51 for DOE Project 18689 during FY 1997 and FY 1998. The work is being performed by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and managed by the Department of Energy's (DOE) Mixed Waste Focus Area (MWFA). The purpose of this work is to evaluate the ability of this thermal treatment technology to convert a wide variety of chemically and/or radiologically hazardous materials present in the DOE complex to compact, stable, durable waste forms that can be disposed of in a cost-effective, environmentally friendly manner. The specific waste disposal issues addressed by the current Project are fully discussed in the introduction of this report. Descriptions of the specific tests supporting the TTP are documented in formal Test Plans issued to the MWFA Program Office at the beginning of each fiscal year. Two engineering-scale furnace (ESF) tests were conducted at PNNL during FY 1997. The first test campaign was successfully completed using a soil/lime feed material. This was the first extended operation of the furnace, and served as a final check of the system and the sampling and analytical procedures to be used in subsequent testing on …