MSE TECHNOLOGY APPLICATIONS, INC.

200 Technology Way, P.O. Box 4078 Butte, MT 59702

To: Jim Fallacaro, President Global Technologies, Inc.

 Martin Matushek, Vice President, M² Polymer Technologies, Inc.

From: Jody Bickford, Senior Process Engineer, MSE Technology Applications, Inc.

Subject: Treatability Testing for Molecular Bonding System and Waste Lock 770

Introduction

MSE Technology Applications, Inc. (MSE) was contracted by Global Technologies Inc. and M² Polymer Technologies, Inc. to conduct a series of treatability tests on a contaminated soil using a Global Technologies’ metal treatment agent, Molecular Bonding System (MBS), and M² Polymer Technologies’ superabsorbent polymer, Waste Lock 770 (WL-770). The treatability tests were conducted to determine if the two products, MBS and WL-770, could be used to treat metals and dewater soils and/or sediments simultaneously as a one step treatment process or independently as a two step treatment process.

Background

MBS was tested by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for a Superfund Innovative Technology Evaluation (SITE) Demonstration at the Midvale Slag Superfund Site in Midvale, Utah. Three waste streams contaminated with Arsenic, Cadmium, and Lead were treated. Approximately 500 tons of each waste stream was treated using MBS and the wastes and soils passed the EPA’s Multiple Extraction Procedure (MEP) 1000 year test (Ref 1) EPA developed the Multiple Extraction Process (MEP) test (SW-846 Method 1320) to help predict the long-term resistance to leaching of stabilized wastes. The MEP consists of a TCLP extraction of a waste sample followed by nine sequential extractions of the same waste sample using a synthetic acid rain extraction fluid. The procedure is designed to simulate the leaching of a waste exposed to 1,000 years of acid rainfall within an improperly designed landfill. The repetitive extractions theoretically show the highest concentration of constituents that are likely to leach from a stabilized waste in a landfill.

MBS was also tested at the Brookhaven National Laboratory using Brookhaven National Labs radiologically contaminated soil spiked with salts of Cadmium and Lead. TCLP tests on all three MBS treated soil samples were well below both the TCLP limits and the proposed Universal Treatment Standards. (Ref. 4)

WL-770 has been tested by MSE during several projects. WL-770 was tested at bench-scale, 5-gallon bucket scale and 55-gallon drum scale for a low level rainwater waste from the Savannah River Site (SRS). (Ref. 5) WL-770 was added to the liquid waste and the product was able to absorb the liquid quickly and effectively and produced a waste form that was able to pass the Paint Filter Test (Ref. 6) and the Liquid Release Test (Ref. 7). Savannah River Site personnel used WL-770 to solidify/sorb the rainwater waste and the waste form was disposed onsite at SRS.

WL-770 was also tested by MSE for the Treatability Testing of Dredge Material Remedial Design for the West Branch of the Grand Calumet River in Hammond, Indiana at the request of Tetra Tech. WL-770 was able to dewater the river sediments and pass the Paint Filter Test using less than 1% WL-770 by weight. (Ref. 8)

WL-770 was also tested by MSE as an additive to a grout formulation to eliminate bleed water for the solidification of Melton Valley Storage Tank Waste located at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. WL-770 did eliminate the bleed water in all of the grouting formulations tested during that project. (Ref. 9)

Since MBS can effectively treat metals in soils, sediments and slag and WL-770 can effectively dewater soils, sediments and pure liquids wastes, testing was undertaken to determine if the products could be used together to treat and dewater contaminated soil wastes. If the products can effectively be used together, disposal costs for treated contaminated soils and sediments could be greatly reduced.

Soil Preparation

The contaminated soil used in the treatability testing was prepared by adding soluble metallic salts to 2 kilograms (Kg) of a soil collected at the Mike Mansfield Advanced Technology Center in Butte, Montana, where the MSE test Facility is located. The information contained in Table 1 details the metallic salts and quantities of each salt that were added to the soil to produce the contaminated (spiked) soil for treatment.

                                          Table 1 – Contaminated Soil Preparation.

Once the metallic salts were added to the soil, the 2 Kg quantity of soil was rolled to disperse the salts throughout the soil matrix. After a period of five days, samples of both the untreated (not spiked) soil and the contaminated (spiked) soil were submitted to the MSE analytical laboratory for TCLP analysis. The TCLP results for the untreated and spiked soils are shown in Table 2.

                        Table 2 – Untreated and Spiked Soil Sample TCLP Results.

As can be seen for the TCLP data in Table 2, the metal salt quantities in the spiked soil are 1 to 3 orders of magnitude greater than in the untreated soil samples. 

Phase I Testing – Individual Treatment Scheme

The first phase of treatability testing consisted of treating four samples of the contaminated (spiked) soil. Two of the samples were treated only with WL-770 superabsorbent polymer at 0.5% and 1% by weight. The remaining two samples were treated only with the metal treatment agent MBS at 5% and 10% by weight. Initially, deionized water was added to the soil matrix and thoroughly mixed to increase the soil moisture content to 30 and 40 % by weight. Then the appropriate quantity of either MBS or WL-770 was introduced to the soil matrix and moderately mixed to constitute treatment. The two 40 % water content samples were treated with 10% MBS for the first sample and 1% WL-770 for the second sample and the two 30% water content samples were treated with 5% MBS for one of the samples and 0.5% WL-770 for the other sample.

The four samples were then submitted to the MSE analytical laboratory for TCLP analysis. The TCLP results for the metals in the treated soil samples are shown in Table 3.

Table 3 – Treated Soil TCLP Results – Individual Treatment Scheme.

As can be seen from the data presented in Table 3, the samples treated with MBS reduce the metal concentrations below TCLP limits for all of the metals tested except arsenic, barium and selenium. These results were expected since arsenic, barium and selenium do not readily form insoluble sulfide compounds with the MBS. However, barium does easily form a sulfate, which is very insoluble and that is the reason that the barium concentration was reduced in the MBS samples just not below the TCLP limits. The samples treated with the superabsorbent polymer WL-770 did dewater the samples very effectively (as expected) and did provide lead reduction below TCLP limits for both of the samples tested. Both of the WL-770 samples were able to easily pass the Paint Filter Test.

Phase II Testing – Dual Treatment Scheme

The second phase of the treatability testing regime consisted of treating three samples of the contaminated (spiked) soil. Initially, deionized water was added to the soil matrix and thoroughly mixed to increase the soil moisture content to 30% by weight.  Then MBS and WL-770 were introduced to the soil using 3 different addition scenarios and moderately mixed to constitute treatment. All three of the samples were treated with 0.5% WL-770 and 5% MBS. The first of these samples was treated with WL-770 first and allowed to stand for a period of approximately 3 minutes after mixing and then the MBS metals treatment agent was added and the sample was moderately mixed. The second sample was treated in a similar manner except the MBS was added to the sample first and moderately mixed followed by addition of the WL-770 super absorbent polymer. The sample was then remixed and allowed to stand for 3 minutes. The third sample was treated simultaneously with both MBS and WL-770. A mixture of MBS and WL-770 was prepared and added to the third sample and moderately mixed and then allowed to stand for three minutes before samples were collected and sent to the MSE analytical laboratory. These samples were generated to determine if MBS and WL-770 could be added simultaneously in a one step treatment process or if they could only be added independently in a two step treatment process.

The three treated samples were submitted to the MSE analytical laboratory for TCLP analysis and the results of the TCLP analysis for the treated soil samples are shown in Table 4.

         Table 4 – Treated Soil TCLP Results – Dual Treatment Scheme.

Waste Lock 770 was able to dry the contaminated soil samples to a moisture level well below the saturation limit of the soil in all three of the samples tested using the dual treatment process and all three of the samples passed the Paint Filter Test. 

With the exception of arsenic, barium and selenium, the metals treatment agent MBS, was able to reduce the leachability of the contaminant metals to an order of magnitude (and often to two orders of magnitude) below the TCLP limits in all three samples tested. As stated earlier arsenic, barium and selenium do not readily form insoluble sulfide compounds, and the TCLP limits were not achieved for those metals, as expected. 

Conclusions

The treatability testing proved that MBS and WL-770 can be applied using a simultaneous treatment process and that the two products do not interfere with either the metal reduction properties of MBS or the dewatering capabilities of WL-770.

References

1. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Multiple Extraction Procedure, SW 846, Method 1320, Revision 0, September 1986.

2. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure, SW 846, Method 1311, Revision 0, July 1992.

3. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Molecular Bonding System® Innovative Technology Evaluation Report, U.S. EPA, National Risk Management Research Laboratory, Office of Research and Development, Cincinnati, Ohio, EPA/540/R-97/507, February 1998.

4. Adams, J.W., Kalb, P.D., Molecular Bonding System (MBS) Treatment of a BNL Soil Mixed Waste Surrogate, Environmental & Waste Technology Center, Department of Advanced Technology Brookhaven National Laboratory, May 1998.

5. MSE Technology Applications, Inc., Accelerated Site Cleanup Programs Final Report — Sorbent Testing for Solidification of Savannah River Site Rainwater, Report MSE-98, February 2006.

6. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Test Methods for Evaluating Solid Waste—Physical/ Chemical Methods, Method 9095A, Paint Filter Liquids Test, U.S. EPA, Washington D.C., Office of Solid Waste web site: http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/hazwaste/test/main.htm.

7. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Test Methods for Evaluating Solid Waste—Physical/ Chemical Methods, Method 9096, Liquid Release Test, U.S. EPA, Washington D.C., Office of Solid Waste web site: http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/hazwaste/test/main.htm.

8. MSE Technology Applications, Inc., Treatability Testing of Dredge Material for Reaches 3, 4, and 5 of the West Branch of the Grand Calumet River, Hammond, Indiana, Letter Report, March 2009.