Immobilization of waste material

Claim 3

The method of claim 1 wherein said waste material has a diameter of about 1 micron to about 1/16 inch.

Claim 4

The method of claim 1 wherein said waste material is low level radioactive waste material.

Claim 5

The method of claim 1 wherein said powdered metal is selected from the group consisting of powdered iron, powdered nickel, powdered bronze alloys, powdered aluminum, and powdered steels.

Claim 6

The method of claim 1 wherein said powdered metal is powdered iron.

Claim 7

The method of claim 1 wherein the amount of said metal is at least about 1.5% by weight based upon the weight of the solid waste material.

Claim 8

The method of claim 1 wherein the amount of powdered metal is about 1.5 to about 3% by weight based upon the weight of the solid waste material.

Claim 9

The method of claim 1 wherein the powdered metal is employed in amounts of about 2 to about 3% by weight based upon the weight of the solid waste material.

Claim 10

The method of claim 1 wherein the powdered metal has a particle size distribution as follows: ______________________________________ Particle Size Distribution, % ______________________________________ Larger than 177 microns 1 Between 177 and 149 microns 4 Between 149 and 105 microns 20 Between 105 and 74 microns 27 Between 74 and 44 microns 24 Smaller than 44 microns 24 ______________________________________

Claim 11

The method of claim 1 wherein the pressure is 10 to about 50 tons per square inch.

Claim 12

The method of claim 1 wherein the mixture of solid waste material and powdered metal is subjected to the pressure for at least about 3 seconds.

Claim 13

The method of claim 1 wherein the composition also includes about 3 to about 5% by weight of a solid lubricant.

Claim 14

The method of claim 12 wherein said lubricant is powdered: petroleum wax, graphite, or molybdenum disulphide.

Claim 15

A strong, reduced volume, self-supporting solid obtained by the method of claim 1.

Claim 16

The method for immobilizing, solidifying and reducing the volume of hazardous waste material which comprises stacking a plurality of the strong solids produced by the method of claim 1, inserting the resulting stack into a container, conveying the container with the stack to an encapsulation station, and filling the free space in the container with a sealant to thereby encapsulate the solids and render them waterproof, chemically inert and leachproof.

Claim 17

The method of claim 1 wherein the powdered metal has a diameter of about 25 microns to about 1/32 inch.

Claim 18

The method of claim 1 which is carried out in the absence of a sintering step.

Claim 19

The method of claim 1 wherein the powdered waste material is selected from the group consisting of low level radioactive materials, spent acids, spent salts, spent caustics, cyclone separator particles, solids from electroplating sludges, solid residues from chemical etching, catalyst fines, pigment residues from paint facilities, high sulfur residues from paper pulp manufacturing, and residues from mineral acid, agricultural, pesticide, and drug manufacturing.

Claim 20

The method of claim 18 wherein the waste material is mixed with a powdered metal selected from the group consisting of powdered iron, powdered nickel, powdered bronze alloys, powdered aluminum, and powdered steels.

Claim 21

A solid having a compressive strength of at least 800 pounds per square inch obtained by the method of claim 19.

Claim 22

A solid having a compressive strength of at least 800 pounds per square inch obtained by the method of claim 1.

Claim 23

A solid having a compressive strength of at least 800 pounds per square inch and containing 1.5 to 20 percent by weight of powdered metal, based on the weight of the solid waste material, obtained by the method of claim 1.