The Eco Logic gas-phase chemical reduction process

Since 1986, Eco Logic has conducted research with the aim of developing a new technology for destroying aqueous organic wastes, such as contaminated harbor sediments, landfill soil and leachates, and lagoon sludges. The goal was a commercially-viable chemical process that could deal with these watery wastes and also process stored wastes. The process described in this paper was developed with a view to avoiding the expense and technical drawbacks of incinerators, while still providing high destruction efficiencies and waste volume capabilities. A lab-scale process unit was constructed in 1988 and tested extensively. Based on the results of these tests, it was decided to construct a mobile pilot-scale unit that could be used for further testing and ultimately for small commercial waste processing operations. It was taken through a preliminary round of tests at Hamilton Harbour, Ontario, where the waste processed was coal-tar-contaminated harbor sediment. In 1992, the same unit was taken through a second round of tests in Bay City, Michigan. In this test program, the pilot-scale unit processed PCBs in aqueous, organic and soil matrices. This paper describes the process reactions and the pilot-scale process unit, and presents the results of pilot-scale testing thus far