Commercial hazardous waste boilers and industrial furnaces ("BIFs") are located at manufacturing firms. The BIFs utilize hazardous waste fuels as an alternative to the traditional fuels (e.g. coal, fuel oil, natural gas) for their manufacturing process. The manufacturing processes produce aggregate, cement, or sulfuric acid. The primary reason that hazardous waste fuels has been and is currently used is that the hazardous waste fuels are a cost effective alternative to using the traditional fossil fuels.

Ongoing EI Digest research since 1989 indicates that at least 35 different commercial hazardous waste BIFs have used hazardous waste fuels. EI Digest's historical research records indicate that the maximum number of commercial hazardous waste BIFs that were actively operating in any year was 31 in 1993. The majority of commercial hazardous waste BIFs has historically, and still are, cement plants. Various factors, including more stringent air emissions controls and inadequate amounts of hazardous waste fuels, caused individual commercial BIFs to cease accepting hazardous wastes.

The BIF facilities, both historically and now, have more capability to use hazardous waste fuels than was available. Even so, our research determined that commercial BIFs have been the commercial combustion option receiving the most hazardous waste. During the early 1990s, about three times as much hazardous waste fuels were used as there was hazardous waste combusted at commercial hazardous waste incinerators.

In 2000, there was a capacity and need to use hazardous waste fuels beyond the amount that was available. In 2009, lower demand for aggregate and cement had reduced the need for hazardous waste fuels such that there was an excess of hazardous waste fuels. However, the capacity continues to exist to utilize more hazardous waste fuel when demand for aggregate and cement improves.

This report provides the 2010 usage of hazardous waste fuels by the commercial hazardous waste BIFs in the United States. Thereafter it compares the 2010 hazardous waste fuel usage in comparison to 2009 and subsequently examines the fuel usage trends back to 2000. It provides an analysis of potential for the commercial BIFs to use additional hazardous waste fuels when demand for their products necessitates additional fuel usage. The report there after reviews biennial reporting from hazardous waste generators for purpose of providing some state level trends and background pertinent to the analysts' comments.

1. How much was the total demand for hazardous waste fuel at commercial hazardous waste BIFs in 2010?

2. How did the 2010 total demand for hazardous waste fuels at hazardous waste BIFs compare to 2009?

3. What was the maximum demand for hazardous waste fuels since 2001?

4. Has the overall demand for hazardous waste fuel at hazardous waste BIFs increased, remained the same, or increased since 2001?

5. What is the market share of hazardous waste fuel usage of each company?

6. What percent of the hazardous waste fuel market did each facility have in 2010? In 2009?

7. How did the change in hazardous waste fuel usage from 2010 to 2009 at each BIF compare to other BIFs?

8. How much total demand for nonhazardous waste combustion at hazardous waste BIFs was there in 2010?

9. How did 2010 nonhazardous waste usage for combustion at hazardous waste BIFs compare to the previous year?

10. What was the maximum nonhazardous waste usage at hazardous waste BIFs in the past 5 years? Since 2001?

11. Has the overall demand for nonhazardous waste combustion increased, remained the same, or decreased in the past 5 Years? Since 2001?

12. What is the estimated market share of nonhazardous waste combustion at BIFs for each company (by tons disposed)?

13. What percent market share did each facility have in 2010 and 2009 for nonhazardous waste usage at BIF facilities?

14. How much has the demand for total nonhazardous and hazardous waste combustion at BIF changed in 2005? 2001?

15. What percentage of the overall usage for hazardous and nonhazardous waste combustion did each company have in 2010?

16. What percentage of the overall usage for combined nonhazardous and hazardous waste combustion did each individual BIF have in 2010 and 2009?

17. How did each overall hazardous and nonhazardous company-wide usage changes compare to other companies?

18.How did each BIF's overall changes in hazardous and nonhazardous demand at each BIF compare to other BIFs?

19. How did the overall trends at commercial waste BIFs compared to those for commercial hazardous waste fuel usage in North America?

20. What is the anticipated future capacity of the BIFs to utilize waste fuels?