• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Soil and Groundwater Environment Conference
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• 2002.09a
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• pp.44-52
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• 2002

Low temperature thermal desorption (LTTD) has become one of the cornerstone technologies used for the treatment of contaminated soils and sediments in the United States. LTTD technology was first used in the mid-1980s for soil treatment on sites managed under the Comprehensive Environmental Respones, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) or Superfund. Implementation was facilitated by CERCLA regulations that require only that spplicable regulations shall be met thus avoiding the need for protracted and expensive permit applications for thermal treatment equipment. The initial equipment designs used typically came from technology transfer sources. Asphalt manufacturing plants were converted to direct-fired LTTD systems, and conventional calciners were adapted for use as indirect-fired LTTD systems. Other innovative designs included hot sand recycle technology (initially developed for synfuels production from tar sand and oil shale), recycle sweep gas, travelling belts and batch-charged vacuum chambers, among others. These systems were used to treat soil contaminated with total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and dioxin with varying degrees of success. Ultimately, performance and cost considerations established the suite of systems that are used for LTTD soil treatment applications today. This paper briefly reviews the develpoment of LTTD systems and summarizes the design, performance and cost characteristics of the equipment in use today. Designs reviewed include continuous feed direct-fired and indirect-fired equipment, batch feed systems and in-situ equipment. Performance is compared in terms of before-and-after contaminant levels in the soil and permissible emissions levels in the stack gas vented to the atmosphere. The review of air emissions standards includes a review of regulations in the U.S. and the European Union (EU). Key cost centers for the mobilization and operation of LTTD equipment are identified and compared for the different types of LTTD systems in use today. A work chart is provided for the selection of the optmum LTTD system for site-specific applications. LTTD technology continues to be a cornerstone technology for soil treatment in the U.S. and elsewhere. Examples of leading-edge LTTD technologies developed in the U.S. that are now being delivered locally in global projects are described.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.62-68
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• 2008

The Low Temperature Thermal Desorption (LTTD) System equipped with a soil transfer unit, a rotary kiln, RTO, cyclones and a bag filter etc. was developed. The LTTD system was designed to be economically operated using LPG as a fuel and recirculating the discharged gas from the LTTD system through RTO. For the performance test of LTTD system the soil contaminated with light and heavy oils (2,690 mg TPH/kg soil) and with particle sizes below 50 mm was fed into the rotary kiln of LTTD system at 7$m^3$/hr with retention time of 15 minutes. Operation temperatures of LTTD system for the removal of soil TPH were $567^{\circ}C$ and $692^{\circ}C$. The residual TPH after treatment was 46 mg/kg and 32mg/kg respectively at each temperature condition, which shows high TPH removal efficiencies of the developed LTTD as 98.3% and 98.9%.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.76-85
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• 2012

Geochemical and ecological properties of remediated soil and gas exhausted from a low-temperature thermal desorption (LTTD) process were analyzed to assess the environmental impact of LTTD treatment. Soil characteristics were examined with regard to the chemical (EC, CEC, and organic matter) and the ecological (dehydrogenase activity, germination rate of Brassica juncea, and growth of Eisenia andrei) properties. The exhaust gases were analyzed based on the Air Quality Act in Korea as well as volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and mixed odor. Level of organic Organic matter of the soil treated by LTTD process was slightly decreased compared to that of the original soil because the heating temperature ($200^{\circ}C$) and retention time (less than 15 minutes) were neither high nor long enough for the oxidation of organic matter. The LTTD process results in reducing TPH of the contaminated soil from $5,133{\pm}508$ mg/kg to $272{\pm}107$ mg/kg while preserving soil properties. Analysis results of the exhaust gases from the LTTD process satisfied discharge standard of Air Quality Law in Korea. Concentration of VOCs including acetaldehyde, propionaldehyde, butyraldehyde and valeraldehyde in circulation gas volatilized from contaminated soil were effectively reduced in the regenerative thermal oxidizer and all satisfied the legal standards. Showing ecologically improved properties of contaminated soil after LTTD process and environmentally tolerable impact of the exhaust gas, LTTD treatment of TPH-contaminated soil is an environmentally acceptable technology.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.14 no.5
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• pp.62-70
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• 2009

A field soil highly contaminated with petroleum hydrocarbons (JP-8 and diesel fuels) was employed for its remediation by a lab-scale thermal desorption process. The soil was collected in the vicinity of an underground storage tank in a closed military base and its contamination level was as high as 4,476 ppm as total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH). A lab scale directly-heated low temperature thermal desorption (LTTD) system of 10-L capacity was developed and operated for the thermal treatment of TPH contaminated soils in this study. The desired operation temperature was found to be approximately $200-300^{\circ}C$ from the thermal gravimetric analysis of the contaminated field soils. The removal efficiencies higher than 90% were achieved by the LTTD treatment at $200^{\circ}C$ for 10 min as well as at $300^{\circ}C$ for 5 min. As the water content in the soils increased and therefore they were likely to be present as lumps, the removal efficiency noticeably decreased, indicating that a pre-treatment such as field drying should be required. The analysis of physical and chemical properties of soils before and after the LTTD treatment demonstrated that no significant changes occurred during the thermal treatment, supporting no needs for additional post-treatments for the soils treated by LTTD. The results presented in this study are expected to provide useful information for the field application and verification of LTTD for the highly contaminated geo-environment.

• Journal of Power System Engineering
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• v.13 no.6
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• pp.76-81
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• 2009

Thermal desorption systems are designed to remove organic compounds from solid matrices such as soils, sludges and filter cakes without thermally destroying them. It is a separation technology, not a destruction technology. Since it is a thermal process, there is a common belief that temperature is the only significant parameter to be monitored. While it is true that better removal efficiencies are usually achieved at higher temperatures, other factors must be considered. Since the process is governed by mass transfer, heating time and the amount of mixing are also key parameters in optimizing removal efficiency. Thermal desorption have been successfully used for just about every organic contaminant found to date. It has also been used to remove mercury. In the present study, the numerical simulation has been performed to investigate the characteristics of heat transfer of LTTD(low temperature thermal desorption). The commercial software, AMESIM was applied for analyzing the heat transfer process in the LTTD.