Bench-Scale Glassification Test on Rocky Mountain Arsenal Basin F material

Abstract : Increasing public and regulatory attention focused on the growing problems with hazardous chemical waste disposal has prompted the examination of radioactive waste treatment methods and their applicability to confine hazardous chemical wastes. The joule heated ceramic lined melter (JHCM) developed by the Pacific Northwest Laboratory is a good example of radioactive waste treatment technology that has begun to show excellent promise in the hazardous chemical waste treatment field. Waste materials are blended with glass forming minerals and processed through a high temperature furnace to produce a highly durable glass product that immobilizes any hazardous species. A bench scale demonstration of this treatment technique was conducted for Arthur D. Little, Inc., to support their evaluation of innovative technologies for treating hazardous materials from the U.S. Army's Basin F at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal near Denver, Colorado. During a one day experiment at Battelle, Pacific Northwest Laboratories, more than 50 lbs of Basin F material were converted to glass in a bench scale melter.