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Engineering Issue: Soil Vapor Extraction (SVE) Technology
Citation:
Stewart, L., R. Truesdale, J. Redmon, Ed Barth, C. Northeim, AND J. McKernan. Engineering Issue: Soil Vapor Extraction (SVE) Technology. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, EPA/600/R-18/053, 2018.
Impact/Purpose:
This document summarizes the state-of-the-science regarding the widespread use of SVE as a major treatment technology for removing VOCs from soil. SVE can be applied alone or as an integral component of more complex remedial technologies that volatilize subsurface contaminants (e.g., thermal remediation, air sparging). This EIP provides updated information since the issuance of the original Engineering Bulletin (U.S. EPA, 1991a) and two Engineering Forum Issue Papers (U.S. EPA, 1996a, 1997b) on SVE. It provides information describing SVE and its applicability and limitations; site characterization; design and construction; performance monitoring, evaluation, optimization, and shutdown; complementary technologies; costs; case studies; and references for further information. To stay concise, this EIP summarizes relevant information and provides references and Web links for more in-depth material. These Web links, although verified as accurate at the time of publication, are subject to change.
Description:
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Engineering Issue Papers (EIPs) are a series of technology transfer documents that summarize the latest information on selected waste treatment and site remediation technologies and related issues. The information is presented in a conveniently accessible manner to the user community. EIPs are designed to help remedial project managers (RPMs), on-scene coordinators (OSCs), contractors, and other practitioners understand the type of data and site characteristics needed to evaluate a technology for a specific site, as well as ways to design and optimize a technology for a particular application. Each EPA EIP is developed in conjunction with a small group of engineers and scientists from inside EPA and outside consultants, with a reliance on peer-reviewed literature, EPA reports, Web sources, current ongoing research, and other pertinent, available, and verifiable information. This EIP assembles, organizes, and summarizes the current knowledge on soil vapor extraction (SVE) technologies that are available for removing volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from unsaturated soils above the water table. As a technical support document, it describes SVE technologies with a focus on remedial scoping needs, but it does not represent EPA policy or guidance.