US EPA

1335057 

Journal Article 

Geochemistry and soil chemistry reactions occurring during in situ vitrification 

Dragun, J 

1991 

Yes 

Journal of Hazardous Materials
ISSN: 0304-3894
EISSN: 1873-3336 

BIOSIS/91/21735 

26 

3 

343-364 

English 

BIOSIS COPYRIGHT: BIOL ABS. In situ vitrification (ISV) is a thermal treatment technology that permanently treats hazardous wastes. It was initially developed to treat soil contaminated with radioactive materials, and it is used to treat soils containing inorganic and organic chemicals. The ISV process introduces a substantial amount of energy into a relatively low-energy soil system. As a result, this energy increase affects naturally occurring processes and reactions which are governing the migration and degradation of chemicals in soil systems. This paper describes how ISV affects these naturally occurring processes and reactions. This paper concludes that although many mechanisms control chemical behavior, diffusion and convection are the main two factors that govern movement. Convection and concentration diffusion cause vaporized organic molecules to move toward the vitrified area and be destroyed or captured at the surface. Although thermal diffusion causes some molecules to move out to the 

Ecology; Toxicology-Environmental and Industrial Toxicology; Bacteriology; Public Health: Environmental Health-Sewage Disposal and Sanitary Measures; Public Health: Environmental Health-Air; Food and Industrial Microbiology-Biodegradation and Biodeterioration