In situ vitrification (isv) is a treatment technology that uses electricity to heat contaminated soil sufficiently to produce an inert glass product. Organic contaminants are destroyed by pyrolysis orthey are stripped out of the soil with the escaping steam and trapped in the off-gas treatment system. Most inorganic contaminants are incorporated into the vitrified zone. The glass product is similar visually and chemically to naturally occurring obsidian, and like obsidian, the isv product is also durable. The electrical power is delivered to the soil through special graphite-molybdenum electrodes inserted into the contaminated soil region in a square pattern. The abilty of isv to treat hazardous chemical wastes, radioactive wastes, and mixtures of hazardous and radioactive wastes is a significant advantage of this process over many other treatment technologies. This paper appears in transportation research record no. 1312, Energy andenvironmental issues 1991.
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