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No description available.

Biopiles are a common treatment for the ex-situ remediation of contaminated soil. Much research has been carried out on understanding and modelling of bioremediation techniques related to biopiles, but hitherto no study has attempted to model the effect on a biopile by its ambient surroundings. A hydraulics-based approach to simulating a biopile in the context of its ambient surroundings is presented in this study, taking into account physical, chemical and biological processes within the pile, external conditions of wind and temperature, the location of aeration pipes and venting pressure, and considering the spatial distribution of treatment as well as contaminant within the pile. The simulation approach was based upon a fluid flow model which couples Eulerian multiphase flow model and Darcy’s Law for immiscible fluid flow through porous media, a species transport model integrating advection, diffusion/dispersion and biodegradation, and a heat transfer model considering the interphase temperature equilibrium. A Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) system has been developed to solve this set of mathematical models by applying the commercial CFD package FLUENT, and various trial simulations have been carried out to examine the potential of the hydraulics approach for practical applications. The simulation produces reasonable results: the biodegradation process relates to the temperature within the pile, and the temperature in turn relates to wind speed and aeration details; due to the various fluid flow patterns, the contribution of each remediation mechanism (contaminant loss to atmosphere via pile surface, contaminant loss to aeration pipe and biodegradation) varies according to the aeration method; contaminant interphase transfer between different pairs of phases have greatly different impacts on contaminant removal. A number of counter-intuitive results are presented, indicating that simulations of this type will give valuable insight into the practical design of biopiling systems. The simulation system also allows the total environmental footprint of biopiling to be considered, examining not just degradation of contaminant but also its removal via volatilization and the energy used in heating air for venting. Further, the application of the approach formulated in this study is not limited to biopiles, but can also be expanded to related in situ bioremediation techniques.

Soil Washing is a promising alternative treatment method for contaminated site remediation. An industry contaminated site - the OMEX site was selected for the study, and several extraction additives (chelating agent and surfactant) were used to investigate the application of soil washing for the removal of heavy metals and hydrocarbons. The interactions and transport of the contaminants were studied by bench-scale experiments for both heavy metals and hydrocarbons. Soil characterization was performed before the experiments.The soil characterization indicated that the OMEX soil contained large amounts of Pb, Zn (heavy metal) and total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH). The contaminant concentrations were 986 mg/kg of Pb, 284 mg/kg of Zn, and 29000 mg/kg of TPH. The contaminated soil was also high in moisture content, organic content and total organic carbon (TOC). From soil analyses on different particle size fractions, most contaminants were concentrated in the fine soil fraction, below 150gm, which constituted about 35% by weight of the contaminated soil.Heavy metal removal by chelating agents was conducted first. The results showed that 3% EDTA solution offered the highest removal efficiency for both Pb and Zn. About 90% of Pb and 65% of Zn were removed by using 3% EDTA solution for 29 hours. The extraction kinetics proved to be slow, reaching equilibrium in a relatively long time (more than 10 hours). In soil washing the solution pH had some effect on the removal of both Pb and Zn with marginally better removals observed at a lower pH. The experimental study indicated that the ratio of washing solution volume to soil weight (LIS) had little effect on the percentage removal of both Pb and Zn.In hydrocarbons removal tests, experiments verified that surfactant solutions can be effective in removing organics from coarse soil fraction, while some amount of surfactants were ++ / adsorbed by fine soil particles. Anionic surfactants such as SIDS exhibited less sorption capacity than nonionic surfactants due to the electrostatic repulsion of the former. 4% SDS solution had the highest TPH removal efficiency for OMEX soil, but the 2% SIDS solution was used as it produced only marginally lower results than the 4%. The percentage removal of TPH was about 78% by using 2% SIDS solution. The TPH removal by SDS solution was observed to be a slow and non-equilibrium process. Higher solution temperature can improve removal efficiency of TPH from OMEX soil. Combined washing with a chelating agent and a surfactant was effective in removing both heavy metals and hydrocarbons. Removals of 78% Pb, 82% Zn and 81% TPH were obtained from OMEX soil in the combination test. However, the TPH concentration in fine soil was still very high after washing and would need further treatment.

The objective of this research was to evaluate the treatment efficiency of a trichloroethylene(TCE)-contaminated aqueous solution and soil by combined technologies of the emulsified nanoscale zero-valent iron slurry (ENZVIS) and electrokinetic remediation process. Nanoiron was synthesized using the chemical reduction method by industrial grade chemicals. The synthesized nanoparticles contained elemental iron and iron oxide as determined by X-ray diffractmetry(XRD). Micrographs of FE-SEM have shown that a majority of nanoiron were in the size range of 30~50 nm. The stability study of food-grade soybean oil emulsion was conducted using six non-ionic surfactants and soybean oil. The results have shown that the emulsion prepared by mixed surfactants (Span 80 and Tween 40) and soybean oil yielded a better emulsion stability. Based on the above finding, the nanoiron slurry, soybean oil and aforementioned, mixed surfactants were used to prepare ENZVIS. Degradation of TCE by ENZVIS under various operating parameters was carried out in batch experiments. The experimental results have indicated that emulsified nanoiron outperformed nanoiron in TCE dechlorination rate. ENZVIS (0.75 g-Fe0/L) degradated TCE (initial conc.= 10 mg/L) down to 45 %. An increase of the oil dosage could improve the stability of the emulsion, but yielding a negative influence on degradation of TCE. Experimental results also showed that ENZVIS could remove TCE up to 94 % when pH=6. It was also formed that a higher TCE initial concentration would result in a higher TCE removal efficiency. In addition, using ENZVIS to degraded TCE-contaminated artificial groundwater has indicated that nitrate and carbonate of groundwater will suppress nanoiron reaction with TCE. Especially, a high concentration of carbonate in the reaction system might form a passive film or precipitates on nanoiron surface. This study further evaluated the treatment efficiency of combining ENZVIS and electrokinetic technology in treating a TCE-contaminated soil. Experimental conditions were given as follows:(1) initial TCE concentration in the range of 98~118 mg/kg; (2) an electric potential gradient of 1 V/cm; (3) a daily addition of 20 mL ENZVIS; and (4) a reaction time of 10 days. Experimental results have shown that an addition of ENZVIS to the anode reservoir of strongly acidic and oxidative environment would cause nanoiron to corrode rapidly and decrease TCE removal efficiency. On the other hand, an addition of ENZVIS to the cathode reservoir would enhance the degradation of TCE therein. In summary, an addition of ENZVIS to the cathod reservoir would yield the best TCE removal efficiency.

Phytoremediation is a relatively new remediation technology that may be useful in removing organic and inorganic pollutants from soils. Much research has focused on this type of remediation in the past few years due to its potential as an efficient and cost effective technology.<p>The purpose of this project was to extensively monitor phytoremediation of diesel-contaminated field soils in the laboratory under simulated field conditions. The main objectives were: to examine petroleum hydrocarbon (PHC) transfer and degradation processes involved in phytoremediation of contaminated field soils; to compare phytoremediation of contaminated field soils with intrinsic bioremediation; and, to develop a rationally-based model that could be used as a starting point for a quantitative prediction of the rate of PHC removal.<p>To realize these objectives a series of laboratory scale experiments were designed and carried out. The experiments reproduced pole planting of hybrid poplars into diesel contaminated field soils from a former bulk fuel station. The experiments were conducted in a closed and controlled environment over a 215-230 day period with numerous aspects of the system being monitored including volatilization of PHC from the tree and soil, and microbial activity of the soil.<p>Monitoring data indicated that microbial degradation of the contaminant was by far the most influential monitored degradation pathway, accounting for 96.3 to 98.7% of the mass removed for soils containing poplars. The monitoring data also indicated a significant difference in the mass of contaminant removed from the soil for soils containing poplars compared to those without. The total estimated mass of contaminant removed varied between 8.3 and 27.7% of the initial mass for soils containing poplars and between 6.0 and 6.1% of the initial mass for soils without poplars. Lastly, using the monitoring data and the below ground biomass of the poplars from each of the experimental test cells, a rationally-based model was developed to be used as a starting point for quantitative prediction of the rate of PHC removal.

Phytoremediation is a relatively new remediation technology that may be useful in removing organic and inorganic pollutants from soils. Much research has focused on this type of remediation in the past few years due to its potential as an efficient and cost effective technology.<p>The purpose of this project was to extensively monitor phytoremediation of diesel-contaminated field soils in the laboratory under simulated field conditions. The main objectives were: to examine petroleum hydrocarbon (PHC) transfer and degradation processes involved in phytoremediation of contaminated field soils; to compare phytoremediation of contaminated field soils with intrinsic bioremediation; and, to develop a rationally-based model that could be used as a starting point for a quantitative prediction of the rate of PHC removal.<p>To realize these objectives a series of laboratory scale experiments were designed and carried out. The experiments reproduced pole planting of hybrid poplars into diesel contaminated field soils from a former bulk fuel station. The experiments were conducted in a closed and controlled environment over a 215-230 day period with numerous aspects of the system being monitored including volatilization of PHC from the tree and soil, and microbial activity of the soil.<p>Monitoring data indicated that microbial degradation of the contaminant was by far the most influential monitored degradation pathway, accounting for 96.3 to 98.7% of the mass removed for soils containing poplars. The monitoring data also indicated a significant difference in the mass of contaminant removed from the soil for soils containing poplars compared to those without. The total estimated mass of contaminant removed varied between 8.3 and 27.7% of the initial mass for soils containing poplars and between 6.0 and 6.1% of the initial mass for soils without poplars. Lastly, using the monitoring data and the below ground biomass of the poplars from each of the experimental test cells, a rationally-based model was developed to be used as a starting point for quantitative prediction of the rate of PHC removal.

As a potential bioremediation system for contaminated soils, I evaluated the use of an arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungus, Glomus intraradices on roots and shoots uptake of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), alkyl PAHs, and toxic metals in Echinacea purpurea, in using a controlled 20-week greenhouse study and a complimentary 2-year field study. E. purpurea seeds were either inoculated with the mycorrhizal fungus (AM) or not inoculated (non-AM) and grown in soil provided by the National Capital Commission (NCC) that have known contamination. In the greenhouse study, AM inoculation increased the uptake of alkyl PAHs in the roots of E. purpurea. The AM inoculation showed no effect on root uptake of PAHs and toxic metals over the 20-week study period. However, when I calculated the uptake rates (k1) for PAHs between both treatments, the AM treated roots ha 10-fold higher k1 values than non-AM treated roots. The soil concentrations of PAHs were found to increase over time with AM inoculation, suggesting, that AM fungi are causing a solvent depletion through root uptake of minerals and carbon, which concentrates the more hydrophobic PAHs in soils. Alkyl PAHs and metals showed no change over time amongst any of the treatments. Assessing the performance of AM fungi on the uptake of contaminants under field conditions, only PAHs showed increased bioaccumulation in the shoots of E. purpurea with AM inoculation. Alkyl PAHs and metals in plant material were unaffected by the AM inoculation, but increased significantly from year 1 to year 2. The uptake rates among treatments were similar, with non-AM roots having slightly greater uptake. Soil concentrations of PAHs and alkyl PAHs were unaffected over the course of the experiment. Our control soil, however, showed significant increases in concentration from year 1 to year 2 with alkyl PAHs. These results quantified the influence of AM hyphae-mediated uptake of organic and inorganic contaminant transfer from soil to plants and the bioaccumulation kinetics for contaminants by E. purpurea that will be useful for environmental models and phytoremediation strategies.

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A região objeto do presente estudo compreende uma área localizada às margens do rio Taquari, no município de Triunfo (RS), que pertence à bacia hidrográfica Taquari – Antas, com contaminação de solo específica por preservantes de madeira, cujo passivo ambiental são pentaclorofenol, creosoto e hidrosal arseniato de cobre cromado. O local é percorrido por corpos d’água associados à drenagem principal, formando sub-bacias. Através dos ensaios de microssuspensão com Salmonella/microssoma e Allium cepa, o trabalho teve por objetivo relacionar a atividade genotóxica com rotas de dispersão de poluentes. Analisando a área do sítio contaminado a partir dos extratos orgânicos do material drenado para o corpo d’água, após eventos de chuvas significantes e análises de extrato orgânico, água intersticial e sedimento bruto do rio. No teste Salmonella/microssoma, diversas linhagens permitiram avaliar diferentes danos ao DNA, como deslocamento no quadro de leitura (TA97a e TA98) e substituição de pares de base (TA100) em ausência (-S9) e presença (+S9) de ativação metabólica. No teste de Allium, foi possível verificar alterações em nível cromossômico. Respostas positivas de mutagenicidade pelo teste de Salmonella/microssoma do material exportado para fora da área do sítio indicam que este material pode estar sendo carreado para o rio Taquari. Isto pode ser evidenciado pela atividade mutagênica detectada em ambos os testes, na amostra de sedimento do rio coletada em frente ao sítio contaminado. O ponto a jusante no rio em relação ao ponto em frente ao sítio contaminado também foi avaliado e atividade mutagênica foi detectada, já o ponto de referência a montante mostrou pequena atividade mutagênica proveniente de fonte de contaminação diferente. Entretanto, tais poluentes não foram detectados no ponto abaixo. Os bioensaios empregados puderam indicar um possível risco de contaminação para o rio Taquari e mostraram ser eficientes para avaliar a mutagenicidade no material drenado do solo e no sedimento do rio. Embora a atividade mutagênica possa ser relacionada em parte à presença de hidrocarbonetos policíclicos aromáticos nos extratos orgânicos das amostras, derivados do preservante de madeira creosoto ou de fontes antrópicas diversas, outros compostos orgânicos podem ser encontrados nos extratos, uma vez que resíduos de pentaclorofenol estão presentes no sítio. Além disso, a complexidade das amostras de sedimento do rio poderia ainda sofrer a influência de traços de metais pesados. / Mutagenic activity, using Salmonella/microsome and Allium cepa bioassay, was employed as markers to detect pollutant dispersion routes in contaminated soil site covered by water bodies associated with the drainage toward the river. The site of the present study comprises an area located along the banks of the Taquari River, in the city Triunfo (RS) belonging to the Taquari - Antas river basin with identified environmental contaminants (pentachlorophenol, creosote and hydrosalt CCA). The Salmonella/microsoma test evaluated organic extracts of the material drained into the water body after significant rain events as well as Taquari River samples including organic sediment extract, interstitial water and gross sediment. In the Salmonella/microsome test, different strains enabled evaluation of different DNA mutations including frameshift (TA97a and TA98) and base pair substitution (TA100) in the absence (- S9) and presence (+S9) of metabolic activation. The Allium test allowed verification of chromosomal alterations. Positive mutagenicity results in the Salmonella/microsome assay of material from the area indicate that contaminant mixtures may have drained into the Taquari River, as indicated by mutagenic activity detected in both bioassays in sediment samples collected at the contaminated site. Mutagenic activity was also detected at a site downstream from the contaminated site. Although the reference area upstream showed low mutagenic activity originating from a different pollutant source, such pollutants were not found at the downstream sites. The bioassays employed, mainly the Salmonella/microsome assay, can indicate a possible contamination route toward the Taquari River and were proven efficient at evaluating the mutagenicity of drained soil material and sediment from the river.