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U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

A literature review of waste treatment technologies which may be applicable to wastes generated at fertilizer/agrichemical dealer sites

Technical Report ·
OSTI ID:6726918

Pesticide and fertilizer products, as well as petroleum fuels and oils, are handled by several thousand agricultural chemical dealers (dealers) in the United States. incidental spillage of these products, as well as improper disposal or recycling of equipment and container rinsewaters, can result in contamination of soil, surface water and groundwater with hazardous chemicals. Past accidental spills and improperdisposal and management practices are another source of contamination. As dealers continue their efforts to contain, collect, and recycle their wastes and spills, there will be an increasing need for safe, efficient, and cost-effective waste treatment technologies to treat that portion of the wastes and spills that cannot be recycled. The National Fertilizer Environmental Research Center (NFERC) has initiated an effort to modify, research, develop, demonstrate, introduce, and market waste treatment technologies for dealers. This report supports this effort by providing a review of the literature concerning several physical and chemical waste treatment technologies which may be applicable to the wastes generated by dealers. Applicable waste treatment technologies identified in the literature search include carbon adsorption, UV-ozonation with biological degradation, wet-air oxidation, solar photooxidation, supercritical water oxidation, or microwave plasma destruction. Waste minimization and management technologies, such as recycling, are discussed in this report. The current regulatory environment concerning wastes generated by dealers is also reviewed. Finally, the issues discussed at several national and regional conferences on pesticide waste treatment and disposal technologies are reviewed and conclusions drawn from this information are presented.

Research Organization:
National Fertilizer and Environmental Research Center, Muscle Shoals, AL (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
TVA; Tennessee Valley Authority, Knoxville, TN (United States)
OSTI ID:
6726918
Report Number(s):
TVA-Bull-Y-214; ON: DE93003876
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English