Use air sparging and vapor extraction to remediate subsurface organics
- Envirogen, Inc., Canton, MA (United States)
- Envirogen, Inc., Lawrenceville, NJ (United States)
- American Petroleum Inst., Washington, DC (United States)
- Univ. of Massachusetts, Lowell, MA (United States). Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering
In situ air sparging (IAS) is used to remove volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from groundwater aquifers. Conceptually, the standard IAS process is simple -- clean air is injected into an aquifer beneath the water table. This induces the mass transfer of VOCs dissolved in groundwater, forcing them into the vapor phase. It also adds oxygen to the groundwater, promoting aerobic bioremediation. By forcing contaminated vapors to migrate from the saturated portions of the aquifer to the vadose (unsaturated) zone above the water table, IAS promotes aquifer remediation by a host of physical, chemical and biological processes. To control the potential migration of organic vapors as they move from the aquifer to the vadose zone -- or to capture unwanted pollutants for destruction or recycling at the surface -- soil vapor extraction (SVE) is often applied in conjunction with IAS. In such a setup, vacuum pumps at the surface induce the movement of sparged contaminants to a series of vapor-extraction wells. Vapors collected at the surface are then subjected to any combination of standard ex situ treatment schemes, including carbon adsorption, catalytic oxidation, biofiltration or condensation. In addition to the standard, vertical-well method, several additional techniques can be used to apply air sparging, including sparging gate-wells, trenches and ``curtains.``
- OSTI ID:
- 220643
- Journal Information:
- Environmental Engineering World, Vol. 2, Issue 2; Other Information: PBD: Mar-Apr 1996
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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