HAZARDOUS WASTE

MANAGEMENT TECHNOLOGY
Stabilization and Solidification (S/S)
Lecturer: Dr Tan Kok Weng
Email: tankokweng@utar.edu.my
Introduction
Stabilization and solidification (S/S) have been
widely used in management of hazardous
wastes.
These technologies are being applied to:
i. Treatment of industrial wastes
ii. Treatment of wastes prior to secure landfill disposal
iii. Treatment of contaminated land where large
quantities of soil containing hazardous substances
are encountered.
Stabilization process where additives are mixed with
waste - Contaminants are fully or partially bound by the
addition of supporting media, binders or other modifiers
to minimize the rate of contaminant migration from
the waste
to reduce the toxicity of the waste.
Solidification process employing additives
Liquid or semi liquid to solid form
Objective of S/S would encompass both in
reduction in waste toxicity and mobility as well as
improvement in the engineering properties of the
stabilized material.
Definitions
Stabilization is a process employing additives (reagents) to
reduce the hazardous nature of a waste by converting the
waste and its hazardous constituents into a form that
minimizes the rate of contaminant migration into
environment, or reduces to level of toxicity.
The purpose of addition of reagents:
Improve the handling and physical characteristic of the waste
Decrease the surface area across which transfer or loss of
contaminants can occur
Limit the solubility of any pollutants contained in the waste
Reduce the toxicity of the contaminants

Definitions
Solidification is described as a process by which sufficient
quantities of solidifying material, including solids, are added to
the hazardous materials to result in a solidified mass of
material.
Solidifying the mass is accomplished through the addition of
reagents e.g Pozzolan - increase the strength, decrease the
compressibility and decrease the permeability of the waste.
3 major areas of application for stabilization technologies:
Land Disposal the stabilization of waste prior to secure landfill
disposal
Site Remediation The remediation of contaminated sites
Solidification of industrial wastes the solidification of non-
hazardous, unstable wastes, such as sludge


Fundamental physical and chemical mechanisms that
control the effectiveness of the stabilization reagent
R&D is important - New reagents are developed or
existing reagent are modified and adapted to new
and different wastes.
Successful stabilization employs one or more
of the following mechanisms.
1. Macro-encapsulation
2. Micro-encapsulation
3. Absorption
4. Precipitation
1. Macro encapsulation (waste block)
Hazardous waste constituents are physically entrapped in a
larger structural matrix
That is, hazardous waste constituents are held in discontinuous
pores within the stabilizing materials
The entrapped materials are free to migrate
The stabilized mass may breakdown over time due to imposed
environment stresses including
Repeated cycles of wetting and drying
Freezing
Thawing
Introduction of percolating fluids
Physical loading stresses
2. Micro-encapsulation (waste particle)
Hazardous waste constituents are entrapped within
the crystalline structure of the solidified matrix at a
microscopic level
As a result, even if the stabilized materials degrade
into relatively small particle sizes, most of the
stabilized hazardous wastes remains entrapped.
Microencapsulation is more effective because it
entrapped the hazardous waste within the crystalline
structure of the solidified matrix at microscopic level.
As a results, even if the stabilized materials degrade
into relatively small particle size, most of the stabilized
hazardous wastes remains entrapped.
3. Absorption
Contaminants are taken into the sorbent in very much the same way a
sponge takes on water
Adsorption requires the addition of solid material (sorbent) to soak up
or absorb the free liquids in the waste
This process is primarily employed to remove free liquid to improve
the waste-handling characteristics
Most common absorbent:
Soil
Fly ash
Cement kiln dust
Lime kiln dust
Sawdust
Clay minerals including bentonite, kaolinite, vermiculite and zoelite

Organic waste adsorbed to an
organophilic clay
4. Precipitation
Precipitation process will precipitate contaminants from
waste, resulting in a more stable form of the constituents
within the waste
Precipitates such as
Hydroxides
Sulfides
Silicates
Carbonates
phosphates
Are then contained within the stabilized mass as part of
the material structure
Binder used to denote a reagent that contributes to
the strength gain associated with stabilization
The factors that affect the reagent:
Concentration of the contaminants
Quantity of the reagent
Synergistic effects of multiple contaminants and reagents
1. Portland Cement (Cementitious S/S )
2. Pozzolan (Cementitious S/S )
3. Thermosetting Organic polymer (Polymer S/S)
4. Thermoplastic (Polymer S/S)
1. Cement
Portland cement, made by firing a mixture of limestone
and clay (or silicate) in a kiln at high temperatures
The kiln produce a clinker, which is ground to a powder
that is a mixture of Ca, Si, Al and iron oxides
Waste materials are mixed with cement followed by the
addition of waster for hydration (if necessary when water
does not presence)
The hydration of the cement forms a crystalline structure,
consisting of calcium aluminosilicate
This result in a rock-like, monolithic and hardness mass
Concrete particulate composite consisting of hydrated
cement and aggregate

Cement-based stabilization is best suited for
inorganic wastes, especially those containing
heavy metals
Cause the high pH of the cement is able to retain
the heavy metal in the form of insoluble hydroxide
or carbonate salts within the hardened structure.
Lead, copper, zinc, tin and cadmium are likely
bound in the matrix by chemical fixation, forming
insoluble compounds
Mercury is predominantly held by physical
microencapsulation
2. Pozzolans
The reaction of aluminosilicious material, lime and
water results in the formation of Pozzolanic
concrete
Fly ash, ground blast furnace slag and cement kiln
dust
The theory of stabilization is similar to cement.
High pH environment is well suited to treat heavy
metal.
3. Thermosetting Organic Polymers
Hazardous wastes may be stabilized through an
organic polymer process that involves mixing of a
monomer , such as urea-formaldehyde, that acts
as a catalyst to form a polymeric material
A sponge like mass is thereby formed, trapping
solid particles of hazardous waste within matrix
Micro-capsulation
However, it will leave some un-trapped,
particularly liquid wastes
E.g Reactive monomers urea-form-aldehyde,
phenolic, polyesters, epoxides, and vinyl,
which form a polymerized material when
mixed with a catalyst

4. Thermoplastic materials
Hazardous waste may be stabilized by blending molten
thermoplastic materials with wastes at high temperatures
When cooled down, the molten will solidified, the waste
will thermo-plastically coated and typically containerized
(put in drums) for ultimate disposal
The used of thermoplastic has received attention for mixed
waste, that is, waste that is both hazardous and radioactive
Type of molten thermoplastic material:
Asphalt, paraffin, bitumen, polyethylene, polypropylene and sulfur



Technologies
Traditional in-situ vitrification
The traditional in-situ vitrification process employs an array of
electrodes placed vertically into waste or contaminated soil,
and an electric current is passed through the soil between the
electrodes.

The heat generated from the resistance of the soil to the
passage of the current is referred to as Joule heating.

As the heated soil melts progressively downwards, the
electrodes are allowed to sink through the melted soil,
enabling melting depths of 7 m or more.

An off-gas hood covers the entire melt and some distance
around the outside edge to control release of gases and
airborne particles generated within or near the melt.


The off-gases are drawn into the hood by the negative pressure
created by a fan, then treated in a process train before being
discharged to the atmosphere.

When the melting has progressed to the desired depth, the power
to the electrodes is shut off and the melt is allowed to cool.

The electrodes are left in place in the melt and are sawn off at the
ground surface. New electrodes are installed at each new melt
location.
The final melt is smaller in volume than the original waste and
associated soil due to:
Removal of volatile contaminants;
Reduced void space;
Higher density of glass relative to waste materials.

Each melting produces a single block shaped monolith of glass.
Most vitrification projects require multiple, overlapping melts to
cover the area and the volume of the contaminated site.


Planar in-situ vitrification
Like traditional in-situ vitrification, planar in-situ
vitrification employs the same Joule heating principle but
differs in the application of electric current and in the
starter path configuration.

In planar in-situ vitrification, the current travels between
pairs of electrodes, causing two parallel planar melts to
form.

As the melts grow downwards and spread laterally, they
eventually meet in the centre of the electrode array and
fuse together into one melt. The final planar melt has the
same size and shape as a traditional in-situ vitrificatn melt.
Technologies

Plasma arc in-situ vitrification
Latest and less tested technique based on established plasma arc
technology.

Bottom-up in-situ vitrification process

Electrical energy is applied as direct current between two electrodes
within a torch, creating a plasma of highly ionized gases at very high
temperatures.

The resistance to the flow of current between the two electrodes
generates the plasma.

The operation involves lowering the torch into a pre-drilled borehole of
any depth and heating the wastes and soil as the torch is gradually raised.

Technologies (In-situ)

In-situ Plasma Vitrification (Circeo and Martin, 1997)
The organic fraction of the wastes is pyrolysed and the
inorganic fraction is vitrified, thus converting a mass of soil
and or waste into a highly stable, leach resistant slag
column.

Advantage - gases and vapours escape from the subsurface
above the melt zone rather than being trapped beneath it -
the likelihood of melt expulsions is reduced.

The in-situ vitrification process can immobilize extremely
hazardous materials and radionuclides that may be difficult
to treat.


Technology Selection
Waste characteristics (pretreatment is
required?)
Process type/processing requirements
Management Objectives and Regulatory
requirements
Budget

Sharma (2004)
S/S technology The advantages:
Low cost because the reagents are widely
available and inexpensive
Can be used on a large variety of contaminants
Can be applied to different types of soils
Equipment simple compare to other treatment
process
High effectiveness
Sharma (2004)
S/S technology The disadvantages:
Contaminants are not destroyed or removed
Large volume of the treated waste
Volatile organic compounds and some
particulates may come out during treatment
process
Delivering reagents deep into the wastes and
mixing them evenly is difficult
In situ S/S site may not be redeveloped
Long-term efficiency of S/S is still uncertain

Sharma (2004)
References:
LaGrega, M.D., Buckingham, P.L., Evans, J.C.
2001, Hazardous Waste Management, 2
nd
edi,
McGraw-Hill.
Additional references
Sharma, H. D., and Lewis, S. P. 1994. Waste
Containment Systems, Waste Stabilization, and
Landfills: Design and Evaluation. Wiley, New
York.
Lizzie Grobbel and Zhijie Wang . A Review of
stabilization/Solidification (S/S) Technology for
Waste Soil Remediation. [Online source]


Key terms:
Term Definition
Stabilization process where additives are mixed with waste to
minimize the rate of contaminant migration from the
waste and to reduce the toxicity of the waste.
Solidification
process employing additives by which the physical nature of
the waste is altered during the process