The universe of industrial sites in the U.S. awaiting cleanup is daunting, with an estimated 126,000 sites needing cleanup at a cost between $110 to $127 billion. Many "simple" sites have been cleaned up already and, in general, the more complex sites remain. Complex sites typically involve chlorinated solvent mixtures, nonaqueous phase liquids (NAPLs), and/or low permeability geologic matrices. Here we present three innovation success stories in which technologies aimed at solving complex site remediation were developed through the course of pain-staking research, repeated experimentation at multiple universities, peer review publication, and field demonstration. The first technology is use of dechlorinating bacterial cultures to bioaugment aquifers to increase the rate of bioremediation to treat chloroethenes, chloroethanes, or chloromethanes in groundwater. After years of repeated enrichments, characterization through qPCR etc, and optimization, these dechlorinating cultures (named KB-1) have been used successfully to improve bioremediation performance at over 530 sites globally. A second innovative technology, in situ smoldering combustion (aka STAR), addresses a different type of complex site, specifically sites contaminated with coal tar creosote NAPL. STAR involves in situ treatment of NAPL via smoldering combustion (similar to charcoal) above or below the water table. STAR is a process that achieves a self-sustaining combustion front, requiring only an initial ignition and subsequent aeration providing oxygen for smoldering. Taking STAR from bench test concept to field deployment required years of research by multiple universities. Research demonstrated that STAR can thermally destroy/oxidize 99% of coal tar in situ. Today, STAR is being used for a major coal tar remediation in Newark NJ, treating over 1 ton/day; and ex situ STAR applications are in use in Asia. Electrokinetically (EK) enhanced remediation is a third technology invented to tackle complex sites, in particular contaminated silts and clays. EK remediation involves application of a low voltage direct electrical current to enhance distribution of anion treatment agents into clay (e.g., permanganate or lactate), achieving migration rates between 2 to 5 cm/day. Our team is performing the first successful full scale application of EK-bioremediation for treatment of a chlorinated solvent source area. Each of these inventions presents an economic benefit for business as well as society.

From bench experiments to full scale application: development of three commercially successful technologies for reducing the time and cost for remediating contaminated industrial sites

254th National Meeting (2017)

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