Innovative Solidification Techniques for Hazardous Wastes at Army Installations.

This report presents the results of a laboratory investigation of solidification processing of Basin F liquid from the Rocky Mountain Arsenal RMA, Denver, Colo. The residuals in Basin F contain toxic metals that require treatment and disposal. Innovative techniques for immobilization of contaminants in hazardous wastes such as Basin F liquid are needed. The contaminant immobilization technique described herein could provide the disposal technology needed to immobilize toxic metals. Due to the development nature of the technology described, additional testing will be required before the technique is adopted. The basis of the technique is adsorption of toxic metals to soil that has been conditioned with N-beta-aminoethyl-gamma-aminopropyl-trimethoxysilane organosilane. Conditioning with this organosilane improved the metal sorption characteristics of the soil used as a solidification additive. Basin F liquid was treated by first mixing the liquid with soil in order to adsorb copper. The resulting slurry was solidified using flyash and lime as setting agents. In order to investigate chemical leaching characteristics, leaching tests were run on two types of solidification products. One product was prepared using soil to adsorb copper, and the other was prepared using organosilane-conditioned soil as the sorbent. The leaching tests showed that organosilane conditioning of the soil additive lowered the leachability of copper from solidified Basin F liquid.