Laserfiche WebLink
In order to thoroughly address all areas of contamination, <br /> EPM wishes to propose a three-phase remediation program <br /> that will employ Pump and Treat , Soil Vapor Extraction, and <br /> In-Situ Bioremediation technologies . <br /> Pump and Treat and In-Situ Bioremediation <br /> The Pump and Treat system is intended to extract free <br /> product ( if present ) and hydrocarbons dissolved in <br /> groundwater and introduce these contaminants into an above <br /> grade, fluidized-bed aerobic bioreactor system. The non- <br /> pathogenic, aerobic bacteria present within the reactor <br /> vessel are known to be capable of the complete biological <br /> detoxification of fuel hydrocarbons to form the non--toxic <br /> end products of carbon dioxide, minerals , and water . <br /> The science upon which biological detoxification is based <br /> is itself found upon knowledge of the chemical and physical <br /> changes that occur in compounds that have entered the <br /> environment as pollutants . <br /> While changes in the composition of polluting hydrocarbon <br /> mixtures are both chemically and biologically induced in <br /> nature, biological (microbial ) degradation plays a major <br /> role in this process (which is often referred to as <br /> weathering) . Although the complete breakdown of <br /> hydrocarbon materials into carbon dioxide, water, and <br /> minerals is theoretically possible under virtually all <br /> circumstances , petroleum hydrocarbons are very complex <br /> mixtures containing large number of alicyclic, aromatic, <br /> and other compounds . Gasoline , for instance , may contain <br /> hundreds of such compounds and crude oil many thousands . <br /> As each of these compounds possess distinct physical and <br /> chemical characteristics , they differ in their capacity to <br /> serve as microbial substrates (i . e. be utilized by <br /> microorganisms as sources of carbon and energy) within a <br /> given environment . In addition, the physical state of the <br /> pollutants , environmental temperature, availability of <br /> oxygen and nutrients (particularly nitrogen, phosphorus , <br /> potassium, and/or micronutrients) significantly impact the <br /> rate of pollutant degradation. By employing a fluidized- <br /> bed bioreactor system to treat contaminated water, these <br /> factors can be carefully monitored and controlled, thus <br /> insuring rapid and complete destruction of contaminants . <br /> In-situ biodegradation will also employed as a system <br /> Page 8 <br />