ABSTRACT
As management of hazardous materials gains increased attention in the United States, new, more effective technologies are being sought to immobilize and/or destroy the wastes, either in situ for previously disposed wastes, or at the waste generation site. The new Resource Conservation and Recovery Act and Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act legislation, combined with proposed rulemaking by the Environmental Protection Agency, is making landfill disposal very costly and is moving in a direction that will severely limit future land disposal. In situ vitrification uses the surface starting technique to establish melting of the soil. As the melt grows downward and outward, power is maintained at levels sufficient to overcome the heat losses from the surface and to the surrounding soil. Generally, the melt grows outward for a width of about 50% beyond the spacing of the electrodes. The effluents exhausted from the hood are cooled and treated in the off-gas treatment system.
