New York/ New Jersey Harbor: Alternative Methods for Ex ... - CLU-IN

of end-product because approximately 50% of the dredged sediment is water and thus
will not be used in the actual manufacturing of the end-use product. Taking into account
the processing fee, the tipping fee, and the market price for the end-use product, the
estimated profit, per cubic yard of dredged sediment is $2.50, as shown in Figure 8.
NUIEG
The Process
The NUIEG sediment processing procedure consists of three core steps: pre-processing,
oxidation, and end-use product conditioning. A schematic of the NUIEG process can be
found in Appendix D. The first step in pre-processing is screening the sediment for
materials over ³“ in size. The isolated oversized material is then disposed of in a
landfill. Although not used in the pilot-scale, recycled filtrate water would be added to
the sediment to aid in the screening process in a full-scale facility.
After the sediment is screened, it must be dewatered in order for the decontamination
process to run smoothly. The water content of the sediment is reduced by a recycling
drying procedure. In this process, a portion of the sediment is dried by normal exposure
to air and manual mixing. This dried sediment is then added to wet sediment. The two
portions are mixed together, dried, and then added to more wet sediment. The purpose of
using this recycling process is to accelerate drying (NUIEG, 10). In the full-scale facility,
the water that evaporates from the wet sediment will be salvaged and used as filtrate
water in the screening process.
Once the sediment is dewatered, the sediment is transferred to a mortar mixer where it is
oxidized through the addition of an oxidant, potassium permanganate (KMnO4).
Potassium permanganate reacts with the contaminants in the soil to produce non-
hazardous compounds. In the pilot study, KMnO4 was added to the weight of the dried
sediment until a concentration of approximately 6,000 ppm was achieved.
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