Enviraj|Thermal Desorption

Enviraj Consulting

Thermal Desorption

Thermal Desorption
Overview	Thermal desorption removes organic contaminants from soil, sludge or sediment by heating them in a machine called a “thermal desorber” to evaporate the contaminants. Evaporation changes the contaminants into vapors (gases) and separates them from the solid material. Thermal desorption generally is not used to treat metals but can partially remove metals like mercury and arsenic, which evaporate at the temperatures sometimes reached in thermal desorption. A thermal desorber is not the same as an incinerator, which heats contaminated materials to temperatures high enough to destroy the contaminants.
Thermal desorber heats contaminated material to evaporate contaminants.
How Does it Work	Thermal desorption involves following steps: Soil or other contaminated material is excavated for treatment in a thermal desorber Oversized object and excess water is removed from the soil to enhance the treatment process The prepared soil is placed in the thermal desorber to be heated. Low-temperature thermal desorption is used to heat the solid material to 200-600ºF to treat VOCs. If SVOCs are present, then high-temperature thermal desorption is used to heat the soil to 600-1000ºF. Gas collection equipment captures the contaminated vapors. Vapors often require further treatment, such as removing dust particles. The remaining organic vapors are usually destroyed using a thermal oxidizer Treated soil can be used to fill in the excavation at the site.
Pollutants Removed	VOCs, SVOCs
Area of Application	Shallow Depth Contaminated Land
Environmental Footprint	Unknown
Area Footprint	Unknown
Treatment Time	Few weeks to a few years, Fast
Treatment Capacity	25 tons/hr, Low
Treatment Cost	Unknown
Data Sources:	https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-04/documents/a_citizens_guide_to_thermal_desorption.pdf