Soil removal mixed liquid-solid

Thermoplastic stabilization/solidification (S/S) is a technology for the ex situ treatment of radioactive, mixed, and hazardous wastes. It is a process that uses thermoplastic polymers to physically immobilize the hazardous constituents of contaminated soils, sludges, sediments, or even liquid wastes. The idea is to prevent the migration of contaminants into the environment by forming a low-permeability solid mass. The goal of this technology is to immobilize contaminants within the existing medium, rather than to try and remove them via chemical and/or physical treatments. 

Under this umbrella, a number of different applications lie, amongst others the batch equilibration and equilibrium soil solution methods. According to the USEPA (1999), the former represents the most common laboratory method for determining partition coefficients—normally defined as Kd—both for contaminated sites studies and for predictions of chemicals behaviour in soils (OECD, 2002). The batch equilibration method consists of mixing a soil with a known amount of liquid (background electrolyte), which is then shaken into a slurry and allowed to equilibrate for an adequate time. The solution will be separated from the solids by centrifuging the slurry, resulting in a supernatant and a separated solid phase. The supernatant will, therefore, be removed, filtered and analysed. 

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