Some of these technologies are ready for use in full-scale field operations. Others have been tested only in laboratories or on small volumes of sediment. This section provides a brief overview of these treatment technologies. Heat can sever the chemical bonds that hold these compounds together. It is often necessary to pretreat sediments to remove water before incineration can be used effectively.
Pyrolysis uses high temperatures without oxygen to break down and destroy organic compounds.
One form of pyrolysis, the Thermal Gas Phase Reduction Process, was successfully demonstrated on a pilot scale with sediments contaminated with PAHs and PCBs from Hamilton harbor, in Ontario, Canada. Super-Critical Oxidation combines high temperature, high pressure, and oxygen to break down organic compounds. This process has shown some good results with PAHs, but has not been as successful with PCBs. Thermal Desorption technologies use heat not to destroy organic compounds and metals but to separate them from the sediments. These contaminants can then be destroyed in an afterburner or collected for further treatment.