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INTERIM REMEDIAL ACTION PLAN <br /> 4491 West Durham Ferry Road <br /> Tracy, California <br /> • Delta Project No 40-91-732 <br /> Page 10 <br />' 5 1 2 1 1 Incineration Alternatives <br /> There are two types of incineration technologies thermal oxidation and catalytic oxidation Both <br /> technologies destroy hydrocarbons by combustion, yielding end products that are typically carbon dioxide <br /> and water Thermal oxidation uses direct flame combustion to accomplish the destruction of <br /> hydrocarbons, while catalytic oxidation typically uses a platinum oxide catalyst to produce combustion <br /> at a much lower temperature <br />' Soil vapor streams that contain relatively low concentrations of hydrocarbons result in very high operating <br /> costs for incineration technologies - thermal and catalytic Low concentrations of hydrocarbons in soil <br /> vapor streams have minimal fuel content , and fuel supplements are needed to heat the large volume of <br /> relatively clean air leading to extremely expensive supplementary fuel costs In addition,these units have <br /> very high capital costs, which would make their use in this situation cost prohibitive <br /> 5 1 2 1 2 Activated Carbon Alternative <br /> Activated carbon is comprised of billions of macro and micro pores distributed throughout its structure <br /> These pores absorb hydrocarbon molecules as they pass through it Activated carbon is not a destruction <br /> technology but only an adsorption technology Once the activated carbon is used up (break through <br /> ' occurs), the carbon must be disposed or thermally regenerated <br /> For activated carbon treatment, many natural occurring organic compounds found in soils compete for <br /> carbon adsorption with gasoline hydrocarbons which can cause early carbon breakthrough This can lead <br /> ' to extremely high carbon replacement costs Furthermore, activated carbon treatment could lead to <br /> further environmental liabilities such as waste disposal <br /> 5 12 1 3 Air Biofiltration Alternative <br /> A biofilter consists of a treatment bed containing a moist high-surface area media that can be installed <br /> either in an above-ground or below-ground surface design As contaminated air flows through the <br /> biologically active media, natural microbes in the media biodegrade the contaminants to harmless products <br /> such as water and carbon dioxide Air biofiltration is a destruction technology that has shown <br /> hydrocarbon abatement efficiencies that range from 60 to 90% <br /> ' RPT045 TA <br />