Case Studies

The MCS™ System was mobilized to the remote US Air Force Base located on Johnston Atoll in the South Pacific. The MCS™ System was used to successfully treat approximately 24,000 tons of Herbicide Orange, dioxin and furan contaminated soils (dredged coral) from the American-Vietnam conflict. Approximately 10,000 tons of PCB and TPH contaminated soils was also successfully treated. The MCS System successfully completed a very rigorous and stringent Preliminary Performance Testing and Comprehensive Performance Testing programs prior to receiving final operational permit approval. The treatment goals for dioxins and PCBs were 1 ppb total dioxins and 1 ppm total PCBs, respectively.

Shell Oil was awarded Malaysian Prime Minister’s Hibiscus Award for Exceptional Achievement in Environmental Performance Utilizing the MCS™ Technology. The project consisted of the dewatering of a sludge lagoon, the treatment of all removed liquids, excavation of all subsurface sludge, the pre-treatment processing of the sludges with a centrifuge and thermal treatment of all contaminated soils and pre-treated sludges with the MCS™ System. Approximately 10,000 metric tonnes of sludges and contaminated soils were treated with the MCS™ System as part of the initial contract. Based on the MCS System’s successful performance, two separate contract extensions were awarded to the project Licensee for the treatment of a wide range of waste streams at the refinery, such as various API sludges, tank bottoms and other areas of site soil contamination. The average TPH concentration of the feedstock materials (centrifuge cake and contaminated soils) for the MCS System was approximately 50,000 (5%) to 150,000 (15%) total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) and the project cleanup goals were successfully accomplished to below 5,000 ppm (0.5%).

The MCS™ System was used for the treatment of over 6,000 metric tonnes of mercury impacted process waste and contaminated soils. The average concentration of mercury in the waste was approximately 1,000 ppm and the project cleanup goal was successfully achieved to below 2 ppm. The MCS™ System successfully completed a very Comprehensive Treatment Test Demonstration designed and supervised by the Taiwan EPA. The MCS™ System has been used since the completion of this project to treat ongoing process waste generated at the plant.

The MCS™ System was used for the treatment of approximately 15,000 tons of soil contaminated with a wide range of pesticides and pentachlorophenol (PCP). Thermodyne Technologies, Inc (formerly known as IR Systems) fabricated, mobilized and conducted complete system assembly and setup at the project site. Baseline testing activities and a full Performance Test Program, including a comprehensive stack test analysis was successfully performed. The average concentration of total pesticides in the soil was approximately 10,000 ppm with a project cleanup goal of below 1ppm for total pesticides and 3.2 ppm for PCP. The MCS™ System successfully treated all contaminated soils to below these treatment goals. Thermodyne Technologies, Inc also implemented a USEPA licensed technology, base catalyzed decomposition (BCD), for the dechlorination treatment of the residual condensate collected during the thermal process.

Please view the Letter of Reference provided by to us by the Project Manager at Weston Solutions, Inc who were the Prime Contractor on this Project.

Letter of Reference from Project Manager, Weston Solutions, Inc

The MCS™ System was established as a fixed-based thermal treatment system at US Ecology’s RCRA-permitted TSD facility located at a very remote site near the Nevada boundary of Death Valley National Park. The MCS System has successfully treated numerous different waste streams from various industrial clients consisting of a wide range of chemical contaminants and matrix characteristics. The MCS™ System is used to treat the hazardous waste streams to below their applicable Land Ban Disposal Restriction (LDR) regulatory residual concentration limitations prior to final disposal in the on-site RCRA-permitted landfill. This fixed-based MCS™ System has successfully treated soils contaminated with a wide range of pesticides, BTEX, VOCs, SVOCs, TPHs, PAHs & chlorinated hydrocarbons to refinery tank bottoms and API separator sludges for major petroleum companies such as Shell, BP/Amoco, Chevron & Arco.

The MCS™ System was mobilized to the site to treat approximately 5,500 tons of a mixed waste that contained Americium, Uranium, Plutonium and other radionuclides in a soil matrix that also contained chlorinated and non-chlorinated solvents. The waste trenches contained a wide array of debris including drums and garbage. The MCS™ System’s standard air emissions control system was modified to include HEPA filtration for this project. Permits were obtained from EPA Region VII and the state of Colorado to treat the waste on site. The soil contained VOCs ranging from 100 to 24,000 ppm with an established treatment goal of 2 ppm total VOCs for soil reuse to be allowed at the site. The treatment technology design and operation was selected for its ability to allow the waste to be handled in a manner in which dust was significantly minimized.

The MCS™ System was the first thermal technology granted a mobile soil treatment plant license in Australia by the New South Wales EPA. The MCS™ System was mobilized and used on the first-ever mobile treatment project to treat approximately 2,500 metric tonnes of soil contaminated with a wide range of TPH constituents from gasoline to diesel and #2 & #4 fuel oil (primarily in the range of C28 to C36). The pre-treatment materials contained approximately 20 to 30% moisture content and average TPH concentrations of 5,000 ppm. The cleanup goal for this project was 100 ppm TPH, however, the MCS system consistently treated the soils to below the laboratory method detection limit of 10 ppm. Thermodyne Technologies, Inc. personnel also provided project management for the removal of five underground storage tanks, excavation of all contaminated soils requiring treatment, backfilling, compaction and site restoration following treatment. The project was successfully completed in two months.

The MCS™ System was mobilized to treat approximately 3,000 tons of TPH and Oil & Grease contaminated soils. The average TPH and Oil & Grease concentration in the pre-treatment soils were 400 ppm and 1,100 ppm, respectively. The project treatment goal for each target contaminant was 40 ppm and 250 ppm, respectively. The MCS™ System successfully treated the entire volume of contaminated soils to below the treatment goals within the required project schedule

A fixed-base MCS System was established at the Titan Petrochemical refinery for the treatment of industrial wastewater sludges, contaminated soils and other types of contaminated process waste. The process waste, soils and sludges contained a wide range of chlorinated and non-chlorinated hydrocarbons. The MCS™ System was established at the refinery for a 5 year contract to treat all currently generated and stored waste streams at the site. The MCS™ System successfully treated all waste streams during this tenure to below project treatment goals.