Why consider PEAT's TDR and a joint venture with HI Disposal Systems?

TDR may be permitted as a non-incinerator The TDR Process employs high-temperature gasification/vitrification. Though every TDR System will require a site-specific air permit, the TDR Process is extremely efficient at destroying organic compounds, and the emission of organic pollutants (including Dioxins and Furans) is well within present and even proposed standards. PEAT’s TDR Process has been certified in the State of California as an approved alternative to incineration for medical waste. At the federal level, US EPA regulations are presently being drafted that will provide the same recognition. As an indication of the "site-specific" permitability of TDR, Kaiser Permanente received a permit for a 1,000 lb/hr TDR-MED System for their facility in downtown San Diego in 1995. This system was permitted as a non-incineration process based on the results of a week-long test with third party sampling and analysis, followed by detailed air dispersion modeling and a health risk assessment

Minimizes or eliminates pre-processing The TDR Process requires little, if any, pre-processing of LLW and LLMW. The feed system can accommodate LLW and LLMW as received, though the prior removal of large ferrous metal and aluminum items that can be directly recycled will make the process slightly more cost effective.

Complies with proposed new air emission standards The TDR Process has been demonstrated to meet the most stringent of existing and even proposed emission standards - even when used on the most challenging of waste streams.

The TDR Process

The TDR Process uses electrical energy to destroy organic materials through pyrolysis rather than combustion. Through a combination of infrared (IR) and ultraviolet (UV) energy emissions from a plasma arc torch, virtually all organic materials are reduced to simple gases. The high energy, oxygen-starved process, operating under a slight vacuum, and consuming metered amounts of steam, converts the solid and liquid organic wastes into a synthetic fuel gas, composed mainly of hydrogen and carbon monoxide which is then filtered and cleaned of particulates and acids. The gas is then oxidized to form carbon dioxide and water in a regenerative thermal oxidizer or one of several energy recovery options, before atmospheric release. The gas represents a significantly smaller volume and contains less particulate than that produced in an incinerator. For waste streams containing high percentages of organic material, large volume reductions are achievable with TDR.

A molten glassy medium is maintained in the processing vessel to act as a receptor for radioactive metals and other inorganics. Those small amounts of radioactive metals that may be carried out of the vessel in the off-gas stream as particulates will be filtered out and can be stabilized or reintroduced into the process chamber for more complete vitrification.

TDR: Advantages/Disadvantages

TDR has many basic advantages over conventional technologies. In addition to those advantages already mentioned, one of TDR’s most important distinctions is its ability to effectively address more waste types than most any other technology (accomplishing both gasification and vitrification simultaneously). As applied to LLW and LLMW, TDR has a number of specific advantages over conventional technologies. TDR provides the most complete possible destruction of all types of LLW and LLMW wastes. Also, TDR’s final waste form (glass) is highly resistant to leaching, and therefore meets all land disposal restriction criteria. Lastly, RCRA hazardous organic materials found in LLMW are as easily destroyed by the TDR Process while organic pollutant emissions such as dioxins and furans are almost non-existent.

Related Experience

PEAT has conducted several tests on waste streams formulated to represent LLW and LLMW. These waste streams were seeded with surrogates representing radioactive metals. PEAT is currently under contract with a waste processing company in Washington State to design, permit, and deliver a TDRMIX System designed to process LLMW. Initial reviews by regulatory authorities and the local citizen’s advisory board have been very positive.

If you are interested in talking about or participating in a joint venture pertaining to the building of a Waste Processing Facility for low-level radioactive waste, please contact: Bobby Taylor, Director of Environmental, Health & Safety at PEAT, inc.

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