Microwave melt and offgas analysis results from a Ferro Corporation{reg_sign} glass frit

Abstract

In support of the Residue Treatment Technology (RTT) Microwave Solidification project, Waste Projects and Surface Water personnel conducted a series of experiments to determine the feasibility of encapsulating a surrogate sludge waste using the microwave melter. The surrogate waste was prepared by RTT and melted with five varying compositions of low melting glass frit supplied by the Ferro Corporation. Samples were melted using a 50% waste/50% glass frit and a 47.5% waste/47.5% glass frit/5% carbon powder. This was done to evaluate the effectiveness of carbon at reducing a sulfate-based surface scale which has been observed in previous experiments and in full-scale testing. These vitrified samples were subsequently submitted to Environmental Technology for toxicity characteristic leaching procedure (TCLP) testing. Two of the five frits tested in this experiment merit further evaluation as raw materials for the microwave melter. Ferro frit 3110 with and without carbon powder produced a crystalline product which passed TCLP testing. The quality of the melt product could be improved by increasing the melting temperature from 900{degrees}C to approximately 1150-1200{degrees}C. Ferro frit 3249 produced the optimal quality of glass based on visual observations, but failed TCLP testing for silver when melted without carbon powder. This frit requires a slightly higher melting temperature ({ge} 1200{degrees}C) compared to frit 3110 and produces a superior product. In conjunction with this work, Surface Water personnel conducted offgas analyses using a Thermal Desorption Mass Spectrometer (TDMS) on selected formulations. The offgas analyses identified and quantified water vapor (H{sub 2}O), oxygen (O{sub 2}) and carbon oxides (CO and CO{sub 2}), sulfur (S) and sulfur oxides (SO and SO{sub 2}), and nitrogen (N{sub 2}) and nitrogen oxides (NO and NO{sub 2}) that volatilized during glass formation.