“Thermal desorption...”
Isn’t this basically a portable kiln ?
Certainly sounds like it.
I wonder if a private company that precipitated such a disaster would be allowed to simply cook the pollution out into the atmosphere.
I'm certain that "a lack of natural gas" would go nowhere as an excuse as far as the EPA was concerned, if the shoe was on the other foot.
Some info I found:
http://www.midwestsoil.com/thermal-desorption/
Thermal desorption is an ex-situ treatment technology that utilizes heat to increase the volatility of contaminants such that they can be removed from a solid matrix: typically, soil, sludge, filter cake, or drill cuttings. Desorbers are designed as a separation technology to remove organic compounds from such matrices without thermally destroying them. The volatilized contaminants are then either collected or thermally destroyed in secondary treatment units. A thermal desorption system therefore has two major components; the desorber itself and the off-gas treatment system.
Usage
Thermal desorption is a thermal soil remediation technique that has been utilized at several hundred environmental remediation projects world wide. As a mature technology, thermal soil remediation performance can be predicted with a high degree of confidence.
Two Basic Designs
Thermal desorption systems can be stationary facilities or mobile units and are comprised of two general categories: Direct-Fired, and Indirect-Fired. There are significant differences between direct and indirect fired units, and many variations of each type. Determining the best suited unit for a particular application requires an understanding the characteristics of the material to be treated and the applicable regulatory requirements.