TreatmentofDNAPLSourceZoneinanActiveManufacturingFacilitywithAlkalineActivatedPersulfate

BrantSmith,MikeMarleyandScottCrawford
XDD,LLC
22MarinWay,Stratham,NewHampshireUSA
www.xddllc.com
InSituChemicalOxidation(ISCO)usingalkalineactivatepersulfate(AAP)wasselectedtotreat1,1,1
trichloroethane(1,1,1TCA),tetrachloroethene(PCE),and1,4dioxanecontaminationexistingbelowthefloor
ofanactive,highsecurity,DepartmentofDefensecontractor,manufacturingfacility.Theremedialgoalwas
toreducegroundwaterconcentrationstobelow1mg/Lwithinthecontaminantsourcearea,whereinitial
groundwaterconcentrationsexceeded100mg/L.Densenonaqueousphaseliquid(DNAPL)phase
contaminationwassuggestedbytheelevatedconcentrationsandwasalsoobservedincertainsoilcores.
TherewasintensepressureonourClienttoachievetheprojectremedialgoals,withinaspecifictimeframe.
Thebusinessunitofthefacilityneededtoresumeoperationswithinthetargetarea.XDDhadalimited
windowofopportunity,afterwhich,accesstothetargetareawouldhavebeenimpossible.XDDcompleted
theentireresponsewithinthespanof8monthsfromproposal,designandworkplanphase(requiring
regulatoryapproval),benchtesting,fullscaleimplementation,andperformanceverificationontimetomeet
thetighttimelinerequirementsoftheClient.
AAPtechnologyinvolvesadjustmentoftheaquiferpHtoalkalineconditions(typicallygreaterthanpH10.5).
Reactionoftheoxidant(FMCKlozur
TM
sodiumpersulfate)athighpHconditionspromotesformationof
aggressiveoxidantradicalspeciescapableofbreakingdownthetargetcontaminants.AAPalsohasseveral
safetyadvantageswhenusedunderabuilding.Subsurfacegasevolutionisminimal,whichgreatlyreducesthe
potentialforgasintrusionintotheindoorairspace.Thiswasparticularlyimportantforthisapplication,since
thisallowedthefacilitytomaintainits24hourmanufacturingschedulewithoutsignificantdisruption.
BenchTest
XDDinitiallycompletedabenchscaleevaluationtoidentifythebasebufferingcapacity,soiloxidantdemand,
andtooptimizethetreatmenteffectivenessofAAPonsitesoils.Thedatashowedsignificantgeochemical
differencesinthetwosoilintervals.TheshallowsoilshasaSODof2to5g/Kgwhichthedeepersoilshadan
SODof13to18g/Kg.Throughasystematicoptimizationstrategy,XDDengineeredtheAAPformulationto
accountforanunusuallyhighsoilbufferingcapacity,andrelativelyhighbackgroundinterferencesensitivity.
Finally,thedegradationofthesitecontaminantswasconfirmedonthebenchtestpriortoafieldapplication.
Thebenchoptimizationstepwasakeycomponentofthissuccessfultreatmentapproach.
FieldApplication
Approximately55,000gallonsofoxidantsolutionwasinjectedintothetargetareaduringtwoseparatefield
events.Thetargetsourceareawasapproximately30feetwideby60feetlong,withatargetedsaturatedzone
thicknessofapproximately15feet(totalof1,000cubicyards).Theinjectiondepthintervalspannedtwo
distinctgeologicalunitsconsistingofashallowsandysiltzoneoverlyingalowerpermeabilityglacialtillzone.
Separateinjectionwellsystemswereinstalledattwodiscretedepthstoensureoptimaloxidantdistribution
intoeachdistinctsoillayer.Atotalof68,500poundsofFMCKlozur
TM
wasinjectedatfieldconcentrationsof
100to200g/L.Theinjectionsolutionalsocontainedapproximately33,800poundsofsodiumhydroxideto
adjustpHtorequiredalkalineactivationrange.
FieldApplicationResults
AtoveroneyearaftertheAAPtreatmentwascompleted,monitoringresultshaveconfirmedthattheremedial
goalhasbeenachieved,andthattherehasbeennosignificantreboundofthecontaminants.Concentrations
werereducedinmanyoftheperformancemonitoringlocationstonearMCLlevels.ElevatedpHandincreased
metalsconcentrationswithintheimmediatetargetareahavebeenpersistentsincethetreatmentwas
completed,butthishasnotimpacteddowngradientwaterquality.Duringtheinitialbenchtestingforthis
application,thesoilbufferingcapacityatthissitewasdeterminedtoberelativelyhigh.Consideringthehigh
bufferingcapacityofthisaquifer,highpHconditionswerenotexpectedtoexpandsubstantiallybeyondthe
extentsofthetargetedsourcearea.Groundwatermonitoringdatawillbepresentedtoshowtheactual
residualeffectsoftheAAPtreatmentonthetargetareaanddowngradientaquifersystem.Considerationof
thesetreatmentresidualsandthepotentialforlongtermeffectsontheaquiferisanintegralpartoftheISCO
designprocess,andthisshouldbeconsideredpriortoapplicationofanyISCOtechnology.
Post-ISCO Treatment
Average Concentration - Key Monitoring Wells (ug/L)
Compound Baseline Post 1st Inj. Post 2nd Inj.
PCE 10,492 * 4,234 113
1,1,1-TCA 7,645 * 5,435 64
1,4-Dioxane 35 * 988 79
*Max.PCE,TCA,and1,4dioxanewas48,600,18,200and3,100ug/L

KeyXDDPersonnel
ScottCrawford ProjectManager
BrantSmith,P.E.,Ph.D. SeniorDesignEngineer
KarenOShaughnessy ProjectEngineer/TeamLeader
PatrickCusack ProjectEngineer

Basel i ne
Post 1st Inj .
Post 2nd Inj .
1,1,1-TCA
1,4-Dioxane
PCE
0
2,000
4,000
6,000
8,000
10,000
12,000
C
o
n
c
.
(
u
g
/
L
)
Post-ISCO Treatment - Average Concentration at Key MWs