Separation and quantitation of hazardous wastes from abrasive blast media

A sample of glass bead abrasive blasting material (ABM) waste, received fro m Robins Air Force Base (Georgia), was examined to determine whether the wa ste could be rendered nonhazardous by separating paint contaminants from th e ABM, The sample was analyzed with size distribution and toxicity characte ristics leaching procedure, A Microtrac analyzer was used to measure the si ze of fine particles (-325 Tyler mesh), and scanning electron microscopy an alysis was performed to identify the nature of the contaminants in the ABM waste, Tests using froth flotation, magnetic separation, desliming, and aci d washing were conducted to develop a process for removing the contaminants , A pilot plant test using the developed process rendered 82.1% or the ABM waste material nonhazardous.