CCSR has initiated a project to use dredged material as an alternative feedstock: eliminating the need for cement plants to purchase bauxite and iron on the commodities market.

Slurry reactor where sediments will be combined with other raw materials. This wet process means that no sediment dewatering is required.

Cost savings for cement plant - cost savings for dredging operation. For a plant with overall capacity of 3.2 million tons per year, 650,000 tons of sediment can be used. Cost savings: $1.6 million for the cement plant, and $26 million for dredging (with no charge for taking cement).

Rotary kilns where mineral feedstocks are melted to form cement clinker. Temperatures of 1,450 C ensure complete destruction of organic contaminants.
	Ball mill to pulverize clinker into fine powder. Heavy metals remaining in cement are expected to be incorporated into mineral matrix and unavailable for leaching and exposure.

CCSR has begun collaborating with Lafarge Cement, U.S. EPA, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and New York State Department of Environmental Conservation to conduct a full-scale demonstration of this technology. Issues to resolve include public acceptance, worker health and safety, materials handling, and verification of organic contaminant destruction.

Contact Information

Dr. Kevin Gardner
Director
Center for Contaminated Sediments Research
336 Environmental Technology Building
University of New Hampshire
Durham, NH 03824
(603) 862-4334 [phone]
(603) 862-3957 [fax]
kevin.gardner@unh.edu