Environmental remediation is a tricky procedure, and several technologies can be used to remediate a site depending on the type and level of contamination. What type of remediation technology should be used to decontaminate an area is identified through the site assessment using the Phase I Environmental Site Assessment report. Which is why site assessment is such a crucial factor in environmental remediation. Make no mistake, this is rocket science, and it is essential if you want mankind to be able to keep pollution at a bare minimum.

The different remediation technologies include dredging or excavation, SEA (surfactant enhance aquifer remediation), pump and treat, solidification and stabilization, in situ oxidation, and soil vapor extraction. Let’s discuss each in more detail.

1. Dredging or Excavation
Dredging is the process of hauling and transferring the contaminated soil from an unregulated site to a regulated landfill-it’s exactly what its name says it is. But on the other hand dredging can also mean simply aerating the contaminated material in the case of VOCs (volatile organic compounds). Recent technology developments, however, allows remediators to remediate VOCs on-site and no longer have to haul them off somewhere to a regulated area.

2. SEAR – Surfactant Enhanced Aquifer Remediation
The Surfactant Enhanced Aquifer Remediation is the process of injecting specialty surfactants or hydrocarbon mitigation agents into the subsurface of the contaminated material. What it does is improve the desorption of NAPL (non-aqueous phase liquid), effectively remediating contaminated material that weren’t successfully decontaminated using other remediating technologies.

3. Pump and Treat
Pumping out groundwater that has been contaminated is the procedure behind the environmental remediation technology called pump and treat. The pumped out groundwater is slowly purified by passing through a series of vessels designed to absorb and extract the contaminants from the water. This is a popular remediation method when the contaminated material is in liquid form.

4. Solidification and Stabilization
Solidification and stabilization is a type of remediation technology that relies on the interaction of the soil and a binder to stop the mobility of contaminants in the material.

5. In Situ Oxidation
In situ oxidation has become a popular type of remediation technology for remediating groundwater and soil contaminants. This remediation technique involves injecting strong oxidants-potassium permanganate, ozone gas, hydrogen peroxide-into the contaminated material to decontaminate it.

6. Soil Vapor Extraction
Soil vapor extraction is a complicated, multi-tier remediation technology that deserves to be mentioned last due to the complexity of the procedure. As mentioned earlier, soil vapor extraction revolves around three independent technologies that make up the entire remediation process, which includes…

a. Granular activated carbon (GAC)
b. Thermal oxidation
c. Vapor condensation

Soil vapor extraction can be used for remediating contaminated soil and groundwater material.

These are just some of the most commonly-used remediation technologies for decontaminating large tracts of land or underground bodies of water. Other rare, non-common remediation technologies include bioremediation and dual-phase extraction. These technologies are much more complex than the ones mentioned in greater detail above yet equally effective in dealing with contaminated materials.

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Category: Computers and Technology
Keywords: dual phase extraction systems, remediation technologies