Innovative technologies for treatment of hazardous and mixed wastes

The treatment, storage and disposal of hazardous and mixed wastes incur significant costs for installations of the United States Department of Energy (DOE). These wastes must be managed under strict environmental controls and regulations to prevent migration of hazardous materials to the biosphere. Through the Hazardous Waste Remedial Actions Program, the DOE is seeking to develop innovative ways of improving treatment technologies to eliminate the hazardous components of wastes, reduce waste management costs and minimize the volume requiring disposal as hazardous or mixed wastes. Sponsored projects progress from research and development to field demonstration. Among the innovative technologies under development are supercritical water oxidation of hazardous chemicals, microwave assisted destruction of chlorinated hydrocarbons, paramagnetic separation of metals from wastes, detoxification and reclamation of waste acids, nitrate destruction by calcination, treatment/disposal of reactive metals and methodologies for encapsulation. Technologies at a demonstration phase include detoxification of mixed waste sludges, microbial degradation of polychlorinated biphenyls in soil and remedial processes in the case of a hydrocarbon spill. (author). 13 refs