The Cement and Concrete Applications Group at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) has developed versatile and inexpensive processes to solidify large quantities of hazardous liquids, sludges, and solids. By using standard off the shelf processing equipment, these batch or continuous processes are compatible with a wide range of disposal methods, such as above-ground storage, shallow-land burial, deep geological disposal, sea-bed dumping, and bulk in-situ solidification. Because of their economic advantages, these latter bulk in-situ disposal scenarios have received the most development. ORNL's experience has shown that tailored cement-based formulas can be developed which tolerate wide fluctuations in waste feed compositions and still maintain mixing properties that are compatible with standard equipment. In addition to cements, these grouts contain pozzolans, clays and other additives to control the flow properties, set-times, phase separations and impacts of waste stream fluctuation. The cements, fly ashes and other grout components are readily available in bulk quantities and the solids-blends typically cost less than $0.05 to 0.15 per waste gallon. Depending on the disposal scenario, total disposal costs (material, capital, and operating) can be as low as $0.10 to 0.50 per gallon.
