In Situ Biorestoration as a Ground Water Remediation Technique

In situ biorestoration, where applicable, is indicated as a potentially very cost-effective and environmentally acceptable remediation technology. Many contaminants in solution in ground water as well as vapors in the unsaturated zone can be completely degraded or transformed into new compounds by naturally occurring indigenous microbial populations. Undoubtedly, thousands of contamination events are remediated naturally before the contamination reaches a point of detection. The need is for methodology to determine when natural biorestoration is occurring, the stage the restoration process is in, whether enhancement of the process is possible or desirable, and what will happen if natural processes are allowed to run their course.
In addition to the nature of the contaminant, several environmental factors are known to influence the capacity of indigenous microbial populations to degrade contaminants. These factors include dissolved oxygen, pH, temperature, oxidation-reduction potential, availability of mineral nutrients, salinity, soil moisture, the concentration of specific pollutants, and the nutritional quality of dissolved organic carbon in the ground water.
Most enhanced in situ bioreclamation techniques available today are variations of hydrocarbon degradation procedures pioneered and patented by Raymond and coworkers at Suntech during the period 1974 to 1978. Nutrients and oxygen are introduced through injection wells and circulated through the contaminated zone by pumping one or more producing wells.
The limiting factor in remediation technology is getting the contaminated subsurface material to the treatment unit or units, or in the case of in situ processes, getting the treatment process to the contaminated material. The key to successful remediation is a thorough understanding of the hydrogeologic and geochemical characteristics of the contaminated area.     

Remediation of Contaminated Ground Water Using Biological Techniques

On-site biological cleanup following spills of biodegradable hazardous organic compounds in lagoon, soil, and ground water environments is a cost-effective technique when proper engineering controls are applied. Biodegradation of hazardous organic contaminants by microorganisms minimizes liability by converting toxic reactants into harmless end products.
Three case histories presented in this paper detail:
• Bench-scale evaluation of the potential for biological remediation in the spill site matrix
• Field implementation of biological treatment techniques.
Cost-effectiveness, minimal disturbance to existing operations, and on-site destruction of spilled contaminants are several of the advantages identified for implementing biodegradation as a technique for spill cleanup and environmental restoration.     

The Application of In Situ Air Sparging as an Innovative Soils and Ground Water Remediation Technology

Vapor extraction (soil venting) has been demonstrated to be a successful and cost-effective remediation technology for removing VOCs from the vadose (unsaturated) zone. However, in many cases, seasonal water table fluctuations, drawdown associated with pump-and-treat remediation techniques, and spills involving dense, non-aqueous phase liquids (DNAPLS) create contaminated soil below the water table. Vapor extraction alone is not considered to be an optimal remediation technology to address this type of contamination.
An innovative approach to saturated zone remediation is the use of sparging (injection) wells to inject a hydrocarbon-free gaseous medium (typically air) into the saturated zone below the areas of contamination. The contaminants dissolved in the ground water and sorbed onto soil particles partition into the advective air phase, effectively simulating an in situ air-stripping system. The stripped contaminants are transported in the gas phase to the vadose zone, within the radius of influence of a vapor extraction and vapor treatment system.
In situ air sparging is a complex multifluid phase process, which has been applied successfully in Europe since the mid-1980s. To date, site-specific pilot tests have been used to design air-sparging systems. Research is currently underway to develop better engineering design methodologies for the process. Major design parameters to be considered include contaminant type, gas injection pressures and flow rates, site geology, bubble size, injection interval (areal and vertical) and the equipment specifications. Correct design and operation of this technology has been demonstrated to achieve ground water cleanup of VOC contamination to low part-per-billion levels.     

In Situ Remediation of Jet A in Soil and Ground Water by High Vacuum, Dual Phase Extraction

This report summarizes the initial results of subsurface remediation at Terminal 1, Kenneth International Airport, to remediate soil and ground water contaminated with Jet A fuel. The project was driven and constrained In the const ruction schedule of a major new terminal at the facility. The remediation system used a combination of ground water pumping, air injection, and soil vapor extraction. In the first five months of operation, the combined processes of dewatering, volatilization, and biodegradation removed a total of 36,689 pounds of total volatile and semivolatile organic jet fuel hydrocarbons from subsurface soil and ground water. The. results of this case study have shown that 62 percent of the removal resulted from biodegradation, 21 percent occurred as a result of liquid removal, and 11 percent resulted from the extraction of volatile organic compounds (VOC's).     

Spodic Material for In Situ Treatment of Arsenic in Ground Water

The leaching of chromium-copper-arsenic salts from old wood preservation sites is a threat to ground water at many places in Sweden. The installation of in situ reactive barriers is an attractive "passive' technique to prevent the further spreading of contaminants. The use of peat as a reactive barrier material has been suggested for heavy metals, but this material was expected to be unsatisfactory for arsenic (As). Therefore, the feasibility of using spodic B horizon material for the retention of arsenic was tested in laboratory column experiments. Contaminated soil was taken from an old preservation site and leached under conditions designed to imitate the field conditions. The arsenic load during the three-month duration of the test corresponded to a load at the field site during three years. The B horizon material proved to be efficient for retention of arsenic, despite the observation that As(III) dominated the As speciation. The As(III) concentration was reduced from 1 to 3 mg dm⁻³ to < 0.02 mg dm⁻³. Pure peat was, as expected, not suited as a reactive barrier for As, and a mixed B horizon/peat reactive barrier also proved unsatisfactory for the removal of As. It is therefore important to separate the B horizon material from any peat that is used to sorb heavy metals. Before applying the B horizon reactive barrier technique in the field, the effect of the naturally occurring variability of the reactive compounds should be tested. The inclusion of oxidizing agents in the barrier could possibly improve the lifetime considerably. Furthermore, the influence of the flow rate should be evaluated since the kinetics of the arsenic adsorption is relatively slow.     

Field Test of the In Situ Permeable Ground Water Flow Sensor

Two in situ permeable flow sensors, recently developed at Sandia National Laboratories, were field tested at the Brazos River Hydrologic Field Site near College Station, Texas. The flow sensors use a thermal perturbation technique to quantify the magnitude and direction of ground water flow in three dimensions. Two aquifer pumping tests lasting eight and 13 days were used to field test the flow sensors. Components of ground water flow as determined from piezometer gradient measurements were compared with ground water flow components derived from the 3-D flow sensors. The changes in velocity magnitude and direction of ground water flow induced by the pump were evaluated using flow sensor data and piezometric analyses. Flow sensor performance closely matched piezometric analysis results. Ground water flow direction (azimuth), as measured by the flow sensors and derived in the piezometric analysis, predicted the position of the pumping well accurately. Ground water flow velocities measured by the flow sensors compared well to velocities derived in the piezometric analysis. A significant delay in flow sensor response to relatively rapid changes in ground water flow was observed. Preliminary tests indicate that the in situ permeable flow sensor provides accurate and timely information on the velocity magnitude and direction of ground water flow.     

The Hydropunch™: An In Situ Sampling Tool for Collecting Ground Water from Unconsolidated Sediments

The Hydropunch™ is a stainless steel and Teflon® sampling tool that is capable of collecting a representative ground water sample without requiring the installation of a ground water monitoring well. To collect a sample, the Hydropunch (Patent #4669554) is connected to a small-diameter drive pipe and either driven or pushed hydraulically to the desired sampling depth. As the tool is advanced, it remains in the closed position, which prevents soil or water from entering the Hydropunch. Once the desired sampling depth is obtained, the tool is opened to the aquifer by pulling up the drive pipe approximately 1.5 feet (0.46m). In the open position, ground water can flow freely into the sample chamber of the tool. When the sample chamber is full, the Hydropunch is pulled to the surface. As the tool is retracted, check valves close and trap the ground water in the sample chamber. At the surface the sample is transferred from the Hydropunch to an appropriate sample container. The tool is a fast, inexpensive alternative for collecting ground water samples from a discrete interval. It is excellent for vertical profiling or defining the areal extent of a contaminant plume.     

Optimal Field Approaches for Electrokinetic In Situ Oxidation Remediation

Numerical simulations were used to identify and evaluate optimum electrode configurations and approaches for electrokinetic in situ chemical oxidation (EK‐ISCO) remediation of low‐permeability sediments. A newly developed groundwater and EK flow and reactive transport numerical model was used to conduct two‐dimensional scenario simulations of the coverage of an injected oxidant, permanganate, and the oxidation of a typical organic contaminant (tetrachloroethene, PCE). For linear configurations of vertical electrodes, the spacing of same‐polarity electrodes is recommended to be about one‐third to one‐quarter of the anode–cathode spacing. Greater coverage could also be achieved by locating additional oxidant injection wells at the divergence of the electric field in linear electrode configurations. Horizontal electrodes allowed greater contact between the injected permanganate and PCE and resulted in faster degradation of PCE compared to vertical electrodes. Pulsed oxidant injection, closer electrode spacing, and electric field reversal also resulted in faster EK‐ISCO remediation.