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RESEARCH PROJECT -- IN SITU CO-OXIDATION OF CHLORINATED SOLVENTS DURING BIOVENTING OF PETROLEUM HYDROCARBONS (SUBSURFACE PROTECTION AND REMEDIATION DIVISION, NRMRL)
Citation:
Description:
There are a large number of sites containing both petroleum hydrocarbons and chlorinated solvents. Fire training pits at military bases are the most common example. These were often used to dispose of waste oils and solvents. Incomplete burning resulted in releases of contaminants to the vadose zones and water table aquifers. Soil venting is widely used to recover chlorinated solvent vapors from the vadose zone, but usually requires off-gas treatment. Movement of air in the vadose zone enhances volatilization and subsequent removal of the solvents. Oxygen carried in the vadose zone by the air induces biodegradation of petroleum hydrocarbons. Vapors of certain fuels are known to support the biological co-oxidation of trichloroethene (TCE) vapors, which would not degrade in the absence of the petroleum hydrocarbon. Therefore, bioventing of soils containing petroleum hydrocarbons and solvents should also destroy the chlorinated solvent. The purpose of this project is to test in situ co-oxidation of TCE through a controlled release of a known volume of a mixture of JP-4, TCE, PCE, and chlorobenzene. The main objectives are to (1) determine the extent of JP-4 and TCE removal during bioventing of a release, (2) achieve a rigorous mass balance on the O2 consumed, CO2 produced, JP-4 degraded and TCE degraded, and (3) determine the ability of uncontaminated soil to treat contaminated off-gas. For more information on this research effort, visit the website at http://www.epa.gov/ada/research/dover.html). To access directly from this website, click on downloads on the navigation bar.