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Arsenic Remediation Project - Southern US
Free Flow Technologies (Free Flow) teamed with a remediation contractor to complete a difficult arsenic remediation project at an industrial site in Tennessee. The property borders busy streets, commercial properties and is in close proximity to residential housing.
Free Flow supplied the contractor with a custom blended reagent. In addition to treating the arsenic in the soil, the environmental regulatory agencies required the treated soil to achieve passing results for lead and chromium. Free Flow reagents were successful in meeting all the treatment criteria. Untreated value of arsenic was as high as 130mg/L TCLP. We routinely treated the arsenic to non-detect levels at ≤ 4% treatment dose.
Once the contaminated soils were treated they were disposed of at a local approved Sub Title D landfill as an industrial waste. If the soils were left untreated they would be classified as a hazardous waste which is a more expensive option for disposal at a Sub Title C hazardous waste landfill.
One of the unique aspects of Free Flow's capabilities is our ability to custom blend the correct formulation and dosage to fit the specific treatment challenge. This is especially effective when dealing with multiple contaminates such as encountered on this project. Many competitors have 'one size fits all' reagent and attempt to force this single reagent to fit a wide variety of applications with mixed results. Our approach is to design the best technical solution at the lowest practical dosage. We will often perform a bench scale study on the specific waste to make this determination; many times these tests are performed at no cost to our client.
Air Permit for Brass Foundry Operation - Southern US
Free Flow was contracted by a brass foundry operation to assist the facility with obtaining a new air operating permit for its new melting furnace operation.
The facility was implementing a capital expenditure project for the installation of two (2) new electric induction melting furnaces. In order to install these furnaces the facility needed to apply for and obtain a new/updated air operating permit for the foundry operation. As part of the project Free Flow:
- -Gathered production process information (material throughput, operating schedule, etc)
- -Performed engineering calculations using emission factors and dust collector efficiency to determine the air emissions for the production process(s)
- -Prepared the permit application forms and facility/process description documentation
- -Submitted the permit forms, emission calculations and other required documentation to the state agency for review and comment
- -Performed air modeling using computer modeling software to determine if the facility was in compliance with the lead (Pb) NAAQS (National Ambient Air Quality Standard)
- -Met with state agency representatives at the facility for a facility walk through and to discuss permitting issues and compliance dates for various MACT (Maximum Achievable Control Technology) standards
- -Prepared the final air modeling scenario that would bring the facility into compliance with the lead NAAQS and submitted the results to the state agency for review and verification
The completion of the project resulted in the facility obtaining a new air operating permit that is in compliance with applicable MACT standards and the NAAQS levels.
Military Site - Alaska
Within a one month period we provided reagents to remediation consultants and contractors from Anchorage, Alaska to the Florida Everglades. Our ability to provide technically superior and cost effective treatment products from coast-to-coast offers our clients the confidence we can handle any remediation project anywhere in the US.
This project required special blend treatment chemistries and very challenging delivery requirements. Free Flow owns and operates its blending, packaging and distribution facility and can custom blend and distribute reagents to meet the client's requirements versus many of our competitors who distribute a single reagent thus forcing the client into the dilemma of making a square peg fit into a round hole.
The Anchorage project involved supplying the client with a product which was designed specifically for this project based upon the results from the bench scale treatment study. Although the shipment of the reagent left from Illinois and needed to be at the port in Anchorage, Alaska in a short period of time our shipping department coordinated each segment of the trip and met all the client's delivery deadlines.
Sludge Stabilization Project - Gulf Coast
In February of 2012 Free Flow provided heavy metals stabilization reagents and on-site technical support to a chemical manufacturing facility located in the gulf coast region. Free Flow in conjunction with the facility management, oversight consultant and on site contractor completed the project meeting budget, schedule and regulatory requirements.
The project objectives involved the solidification and stabilization of approximately 1,000 tons of lead and cadmium contaminated sludge contained in both a processing tank and an adjacent storm water containment tank. The sludge was to be solidified to pass the EPA's Paint filter test and had to achieve stabilization requirements for lead and cadmium for allowing the waste to be disposed in the client's on site landfill.
Prior to any actual stabilization activities the outside on the process tank had to be reinforced with sandbags to ensure structural integrity of the tank walls during the operation. Once the tank was reinforced the Free Flow reagent was distributed onto the surface of the open topped process tank. The reagent, Free Flow 300, was contained in one (1) ton bulk bags and was lifted over the tank walls by lifting straps suspended from an excavator's bucket. The bottom of the bag is fitted with a dump chute and the material was metered slowly out of the bag over a predesignated surface area and mixed into the sludge @ 6% by weight. Upon completion of the reagent mixing the solidification chemical was then mixed in the same fashion @ 10% by weight.
The two (2) compounds complemented each other and achieved all the project objectives with a single application. All parties involved with the project were pleased with the performance of the process and ease of project execution.
Former Military Site - Florida
The National Parks Service appreciated the timeliness of the reagent delivery to a remote part of the Everglades as well as the economic value of the product. The consultant who was overseeing the technical portion of the product referred their clients to Free Flow on a regular basis as a result of numerous successful past project performances. In a highly sensitive ecological system such as the Everglades it was necessary to utilize a product which was virtually dust free. Free Flow provided exactly what was needed at a low dose application.
Free Flow products are so non invasive they can be left in place on many project locations. Our reagents have routinely passed SPLP and MEP treatment criteria where the client was able to leave treated materials on site saving the additional cost of transportation, disposal and backfilling charges.
Petroleum Plume - Illinois
Free Flow has completed an ART well remediation system installation for a major industrial facility located in Illinois. The system was installed in accordance with Free Flow's Illinois EPA-approved Corrective Action Plan and consists of eight ART remediation wells to clean up petroleum contamination in soil and groundwater.
Free Flow initiated startup activities for this system in August 2010. As of September 2011 approximately 1,950 pounds of petroleum have been removed from the subsurface by the ART system and the dissolved petroleum contaminants have been reduced by 38 percent. Free Flow anticipates meeting the soil and groundwater remediation objectives by 2013.
Mine Tailing Waste - Western USA
Free Flow Excels in SPLP
Free Flow has continued to provide treatment reagents for a mining waste reclamation project for the past two (2) years. While all treated TCLP results were well below standards for Lead and Arsenic, the agency in control of the standards elected to implement a tighter standard by switching to the Synthetic Precipitation Leaching Procedure (SPLP) for a demonstration of effective treatment.
This meant that the FF-200 product would be required to treat the Lead and Arsenic to the drinking water standard and not the TCLP standard. This would be a challenge for most chemistries, however the FF-200 had no problem in meeting the standard at the same low dosage of 2% that was currently being utilized.
Free Flow continues to be a leader in providing treatment reagents for a variety of industries demonstrating that for every waste problem there is a solution. As noted in the mountain range photos, the FF-200 can be applied in virtually all applications with minimum dust intrusion.
Free Flow provides treatability studies on most waste streams on a no charge basis. Give us a call and allow us to assist you in solving your waste issues.
Foundry Treatment System Installation - Wisconsin
In late 2010, Free Flow was contacted by a large Northern Wisconsin foundry regarding our FF-100® reagent treatment product and an associated feeding system for the reagent. The foundry was expanding/updating the dust collection system for the melt decks and the dust being captured is hazardous for lead and cadmium. The foundry is a state of the art facility that can produce over twenty-five (25) tons of metal per hour using large coreless induction furnaces.
Free Flow visited with plant personnel to ensure that the treatment system was properly designed to meet the current and future needs of the foundry. The final Free Flow system design was custom tailored to allow one 2,000 pound super sack of reagent to supply material for two separate volumetric feeders.
In January 2011, Free Flow Technologies, Ltd. was awarded the contract to perform the turn-key installation on the reagent (Free Flow 100®) feed system for treatment of the melt dust and fumes generated from the facility's two large melting decks.
In April 2011, Free Flow completed the installation of the reagent feeding system. Free Flow personnel worked closely with the plant personnel (management and maintenance staff) as well as the facility's preferred HVAC and mechanical contractors. A Free Flow engineer was present at the facility during the entire project. Free Flow also performed the system calibration and presented the facility management with calibration graphs for each feeder in the system. The end result was the treatment system was installed in a timely manner and under budget with effective treatment results.
Free Flow can provide in house design and turnkey installation of treatment systems for foundry applications. We can also provide upgraded systems to allow retrofits regardless of the treatment reagent being utilized.
Free Flow Treatment Reagents Helps Protect Wildlife
At the Seventh International Conference on Remediation of Chlorinated and Recalcitrant Compounds, organized and presented by Battelle, the technical paper "Effectiveness of Soil Amendments for Reducing Exposure to Wildlife from Lead and Other Heavy Metals" will be presented.
The findings presented therein demonstrate how Free Flow chemistry, when used in heavy metals contaminated soils, can help to protect wildlife.
(ABSTRACT)
Effectiveness of Soil Amendments for Reducing Exposure to Wildlife from Lead and Other Heavy Metals
Will Gala and Carol Baker (Chevron Energy Technology Company, Richmond, CA, USA)
Daniel Oberle and Anthony Zapp (Stantec Consulting, Sylvania, OH, USA)
Heavy metals in soil can present an unacceptable ecological risk to wildlife through exposure pathways that include the ingestion of soil invertebrates (e.g., earthworms). At a former refinery site in the Midwest, a baseline ecological risk assessment indicated the potential for unacceptable risks to wildlife associated with ingestion of soil invertebrates that accumulated heavy metals (primarily lead) from contaminated soil. As part of bench-scale feasibility studies, the use of soil amendments to reduce the bioavailability of heavy metals in soil was investigated. Soil amendments evaluated included Class A biosolids or composted cow manure, ferrous sulfate, red mud, and Free-Flow® buffered calcium phosphates. The soil amendments were tested singly, and in combination, on 4 soil samples representing a range of metal concentrations. Their effectiveness for reducing metal bioavailability was evaluated using a modified Relative Bioavailability Leach Procedure (RBALP) to represent the mildly acidic conditions expected in the gut of the earthworm. On selected amendments and amendment combinations, 28-day earthworm (Eisenia fetida) bioaccumulation bioassays (ASTM E 1676-04) were also conducted.
Ferrous sulfate and Free-Flow® singly and in combination (and in combination with manure) were the most effective in reducing lead availability as measured by RBALP. Similar results were observed in the earthworm bioaccumulation bioassay with lead concentrations in the earthworm tissues reduced by as much as 70-80% depending on the amendment and soil lead concentration. Reductions in arsenic and zinc bioaccumulation were also noted, but to a lesser extent than the other metals. Analyses by X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) of the amended soils indicated that reduction in earthworm bioaccumulation was largely associated with geochemical reactions which fixated the metals onto the oxide surfaces of manganese and phosphate minerals.
Former Miltary Firing Range - Midwest US
Free Flow Technologies, Ltd. (Free Flow) supplied treatment reagent which was successfully used in the stabilization of firing range waste located in Illinois. Free Flow was awarded the contract to supply the reagent to a US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Remediation Contractor.
USACE had the soil sampled in an area which had been designated as an impact zone for the test firing of military ordinance over many years. The samples were analyzed and it was determined the impact zone soils contained potentially hazardous levels of leachable lead which if removed untreated would fail the USEPA's Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure (TCLP) at greater than 5 mg/L Lead.
The most cost effective approach of handling this problem was determined to be on site treatment of the waste. This treatment step would render the waste non-hazardous avoiding the high cost of transporting and disposing of the treated waste at a Subtitle C Hazardous Waste Landfill. Upon successful treatment the waste could be sent to a more cost effective Subtitle D Industrial Landfill for final disposition.
All project stakeholders, USACE, consultant and contractor, were pleased with the technical and economical aspects of the Free Flow product. The reagent is easy to transport, store and mix with the contaminated soil. Mixing is accomplished with traditional construction equipment. Unlike many reagents which require large doses (15-20%) to meet regulatory requirements, Free Flow was able to achieve successful treatment results at 3%. The cost savings for the low dosage is recognized not only with the original reagent purchase but also the bulking factors for less total waste generated for offsite transportation and disposal fees to the landfill.
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Free Flow Technologies
Offices
4920 Forest Hills Rd,
Suite 200
Loves Park, IL 61111
815-636-0166
815-636-0560 (fax)
(Map to Offices)
Production Facility
1200 Windsor Rd
Loves Park, IL 61111
(Map to Production Facility)
