Natural and Enhanced Remediation Systems - Chapter 1 doc

The focus is on those techniques thatmodify or enhance the natural environment to aid in the remediation of contaminants.When applied correctly, these engineered, natural systems have pr

Suthersan, Suthan S “Frontmatter”

Natural and Enhanced Remediation Systems

Edited by Suthan S SuthersanBoca Raton: CRC Press LLC, 2001

Natural and Enhanced Remediation Systems

by Suthan S Suthersan

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Suthersan, Suthan S.

Natural and enhanced remediation systems / by Suthan S Suthersan.

p cm — (Arcadis Geraghty & Miller science and engineering) Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 1-56670-282-8

1 Soil remediation 2 Groundwater–Purification 3 Hazardous wastes–Natural attenuation 4 Bioremediation I Title II Geraghty & Miller environmental science and engineering series.

TD878.S873 2001

CIP

Sincere Thanks To:

Sumathy, Shauna, and Nealon for their enthusiastic

support and unending patience.

STP, MTP, MLM, and SBB for their insight, support,

inspiration, and trust.

Dedicated with utmost humility to the heroes and heroines of Eelam who have put their lives in the line of fire to express

their intellectual freedom.

I have worked with Dr Suthersan for the past 13 years and have seen firsthandthe impact he has had on the evolution of our business Over this period, environ-mental remediation has moved from a world of standard operation and application

of proven technology to one where more innovative concepts can be applied, tested,and developed for the benefit of the environment, the regulatory community, andindustry Dr Suthersan has worked assiduously to develop new remediation tech-nologies, move them to pilot testing in cooperation with industry, and make themdemonstrated techniques

As our industry has matured, the pressures on all parties have increased: pressure

to assure protection of human health and the environment, to remediate faster, torapidly return sites to beneficial use, to reduce costs, etc Finding a solution to thesecompeting objectives has become more and more intricate and must include theimpacts of social, economic, business, and environmental factors Dr Suthersan isone of the most talented purveyors of remediation technology as a tool to solve thesecomplex problems in a world where competing priorities are the rule not the excep-tion The author has focused on finding these total business solutions for our industry,using the innovative technical solutions he or others have created Finding totalbusiness solutions to multifaceted environmental problems is one of the hallmarks

of Dr Suthersan’s career

In this book, Dr Suthersan explains some of the pioneering remediation nologies developed over the past few years The focus is on those techniques thatmodify or enhance the natural environment to aid in the remediation of contaminants.When applied correctly, these engineered, natural systems have proven to be moreefficient and cost effective than their more intrusive predecessors Assuring that thesetechniques are applied correctly and tailored to each particular setting is a keycomponent of any system’s success The impact of biological, chemical, and hydro-geologic settings on these technologies is thoroughly discussed Dr Suthersandescribes each technique in detail: its processes, the science behind it, its application,and the constraints This book will be an invaluable resource to the practicingremediation engineer, the regulatory community charged with evaluating these tech-niques, and the industry applying them

tech-It has been a privilege to have worked with Dr Suthersan for these past yearsand to have seen the influence of his knowledge and skill in our industry I believethat those who read this book will gain from his wisdom

Steve Blake

Executive Board, ARCADIS, N.V.

Denver, Colorado

Remediation of hazardous wastes present in the subsurface has evolved withtime and has been influenced by various factors over the years During the earlyyears, direction and efforts were mostly influenced by the regulations in place andthe need for compliance and protection of human health and environment Thecontaminants primarily focused upon during this time were the petroleum-relatedcontaminants stemming from leaking underground storage tanks (USTs)

In later years, remediation efforts were driven by a combination of economicand regulatory factors During this time contaminants that caught most of the atten-tion were the chlorinated solvents, heavy metals, and chlorinated and nonchlorinatedpolynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) The current focus seems to be taking adifferent direction: instead of focusing on the type of contaminants, emphasis is onevaluating the damage to the environment (and thus the risk) and repairing thatdamage in a cost-effective manner

Evolution of remediation technologies was influenced not only by changingregulatory and economic factors, but also by the type and chemical characteristics

of contaminants under focus An example is the shift in emphasis from engineeredaerobic bioremediation systems of the 1980s to engineered anaerobic bioremediationsystems of the 1990s Significant reliance and dependence on natural remediationsystems have increased as a result of recent acceptance that landfills behave asbioreactors and the very recent focus on dealing with ecological risks and naturalresources damage (NRD) assessments Ever increasing understanding of the behav-ior of most contaminants in the natural environment has also led to the effort ofmaximizing the remediation potential of natural systems

The thematic focus of this book is to highlight the current phase in the evolution

of remediation technologies All the technologies discussed in the book utilize orenhance the natural biogeochemical environment for remediation of hazardous con-taminants The discussion throughout the book is focused towards helping practitioners

of remediation to engineer remediation systems utilizing the natural environment.These natural systems or reactors still have to be properly designed and engineered tooptimize the performance and maximize contaminant removal efficiencies

The basic understanding of environmental and contaminant characteristicsrequired to design these systems is provided in Chapter 2 I had just coined thephrase “in situ reactive zones (IRZ)” when I wrote my previous book in 1996 andwas able to provide only an introduction of the technology I have made a signif-icant effort in Chapter 4 to describe the IRZ technology and its various modifiedapplications The manner in which the application of this technology is explodingmay justify a book of its own I am proud to see the advances and expansion ofthis technology pioneered by my colleagues and me at ARCADIS G & M, Inc.Due to the shortage of space I could not present data from all the successful sitesusing this technology Technical advances and theoretical insights on the applica-tion of in situ chemical oxidation are also presented in Chapter 4 (special thanks

to Dr Fred Payne)

I also had the privilege of being involved in some of the earliest phytoremediationand phyto-cover applications Some contributions to the science of designing phyto-covers are presented in Chapter 7 (special thanks to Dr Scott Potter) I have providedonly a summary on the current state of the science of phytoremediation in Chapter

5 Basic concepts of treatment wetlands are provided in Chapter 6 I truly believethat this technology will have more applications in the field of hazardous wasteremediation

I wrote this book to reach a wide audience: remediation design engineers,scientists, regulatory specialists, graduate students in environmental engineering,and people from the industry who have general responsibility for site cleanups Ihave tried to provide a general, basic description of the technologies in all chapters

in addition to detailed information on basic principles and fundamentals in mostchapters Readers who are not interested in basic principles can skip these passagesand still receive the general knowledge they need

Suthan S Suthersan

Yardley, Pennsylvania

First and foremost, I would like to thank members and colleagues from theInnovative Strategies Group (ISG) of ARCADIS — Frank Lenzo, Mike Hansen, andJeff Burdick — for their enthusiasm and hard work in trying to experiment withinnovative and cutting edge technologies in the field Insights and advice provided

by Drs Scott Potter and Fred Payne in formulating the theoretical and mathematicalfoundations behind the technical concepts are immense In addition, the patienceand excitement exhibited by Chris Lutes and David Liles during the laboratory

“proof of concept” experiments always boosted my confidence to proceed to thenext level in implementing many of the technologies Taking these technologiesfrom the conceptual level to field scale applications would not have been possiblewithout these individuals

I have to thank Eileen Schumacher and Ben Tufford for patiently drafting allthe figures and Amy Weinert and Gail Champlin for typing the manuscript Themanagement of my employer ARCADIS G & M, Inc deserves special mention forall the support given to me over the years The opportunities and encouragementprovided to me in order to “think out of the box” are a reflection of the company’sculture I owe a special debt to all the engineers and project managers who helped

me to implement many innovative and challenging remediation projects This list is

a long one, but special mention is due to the following: Mike Maierle, Don Kidd,Gary Keyes, Steve Brussee, Jack Kratzmeyer, Mark Wagner, Jim Drought, TinaStack, Eric Carman, Al Hannum, John Horst, Kurt Beil, Dave Vance, Nanjun Shetty,and Pat Hicks

The encouragement, support, and feedback on the state of the science approaches

in phytoremediation by Drs Steve Rock and Steve McCutcheon, of the USEPA, arevery much appreciated

The Author

Suthan S Suthersan, Ph.D., P.E., is senior vice presidentand director of Innovative Remediation Strategies atARCADIS G & M, Inc., an international environmentaland infrastructure services company In his 12 years withthe company, Dr Suthersan has helped make AG&M one

of the most respected environmental engineering nies in the U.S., specifically in the field of in situ remedi-ation of hazardous wastes Many of the technologies hepioneered have since become industry standards His big-gest contribution to the industry, beyond the technologydevelopment itself, has been to convince the regulatorycommunity that these innovative technologies are betterthan traditional ones, not only from a cost viewpoint, but also for technical effec-tiveness His experience is derived from working on at least 500 remediation projects

compa-in design, implementation, and technical oversight capacities durcompa-ing the past 15years

Dr Suthersan’s technology development efforts have been rewarded with sevenpatents awarded and more pending His most important recent contributions arereflected by the following patents: Engineered In Situ Anaerobic Reactive Zones,

US Patent 6,143,177; In Well Air Stripping, Oxidation, and Adsorption, US Patent6,102,623; In Situ Anaerobic Reactive Zone for In Situ Metals Precipitation and toAchieve Microbial De-Nitrification, US Patent 5,554,290; In Situ Reactive Gate forGroundwater Remediation, US Patent 6,116,816

Dr Suthersan has a Ph.D in environmental engineering from the University ofToronto, a M.S degree in environmental engineering from the Asian Institute ofTechnology, and a B.S degree in civil engineering from the University of Sri Lanka

In addition to his consulting experience Dr Suthersan has taught courses at severaluniversities He is the founding editor in chief of the Journal of Strategic Environ- mental Management and is a member of the editorial board of the International Journal of Phytoremediation

Chapter 1

Hazardous Wastes Pollution and Evolution of Remediation

1.1 Introduction

1.2 The Concept of Risk

1.2.1 The Decision Making Framework

1.3 Evolution of Understanding of Fate and Transport in

2.2.1.6 Hydrolysis2.2.1.7 Photolytic Reactions in Surface Water2.2.2 Biological Characteristics

2.2.2.1 Cometabolism2.2.2.2 Kinetics of Biodegradation2.3 Environmental Characteristics

2.3.1 Sorption Coefficient

2.3.1.1 Soil Sorption Coefficients2.3.1.2 Factors Affecting Sorption Coefficients2.3.2 Oxidation-Reduction Capacities of Aquifer Solids

2.3.2.1 pe and pH2.3.2.2 REDOX Poise2.3.2.3 REDOX ReactionsReferences

Chapter 3

Monitored Natural Attenuation

3.1 Introduction

3.1.1 Definitions of Natural Attenuation

3.2 Approaches for Evaluating Natural Attenuation

3.3 Patterns vs Protocols

3.3.1 Protocols for Natural Attenuation

3.3.2 Patterns of Natural Attenuation

3.3.2.1 Various Patterns of Natural Attenuation3.4 Processes Affecting Natural Attenuation of Compounds3.4.1 Movement of Contaminants in the Subsurface

3.5 Monitoring and Sampling for Natural Attenuation

3.5.1 Dissolved Oxygen (DO)

3.5.2 Oxidation–Reduction (REDOX) Potential (ORP)3.5.3 pH

3.5.4 Filtered vs Unfiltered Samples for Metals

3.5.4.1 Field Filtration and the Nature of

Groundwater Particulates3.5.4.2 Reaasons for Field Filtration

3.5.5 Low-Flow Sampling as a Paradigm for Filtration 3.5.6 A Comparison Study

References

Chapter 4

In Situ Reactive Zones

4.1 Introduction

4.2 Engineered Anaerobic Systems

4.2.1 Enhanced Reductive Dechlorination (ERD) Systems4.2.1.1 Early Evidence

4.2.1.1.1 Biostimulation vs Bioaugmentation 4.2.1.2 Mechanisms of Reductive Dechlorination 4.2.1.3 Microbiology of Reductive Dechlorination

4.2.1.3.1 Cometabolic Dechlorination4.2.1.3.2 Dechlorination by Halorespiring

Microorganisms4.2.1.4 Electron Donors

4.2.1.4.1 Production of H2 by Fermentation4.2.1.4.2 Competition for H2

4.2.1.5 Mixture of Compounds on Kinetics

4.2.1.6 Temperature Effects

4.2.1.7 Anaerobic Oxidation

4.2.1.8 Electron Acceptors and Nutrients

4.2.1.9 Field Implementation of IRZ for Enhanced Reductive4.2.1.10 Lessons Learned

4.2.1.11 Derivation of a Completely Mixed System for

Groundwater Solute Transport of Chlorinated Ethenes4.2.1.12 IRZ Performance Data

4.2.2 In Situ Metals Precipitation

4.2.2.1 Principles of Heavy Metals Precipitation

4.2.2.2 Aquifer Parameters and Transport Mechanisms4.2.2.3 Contaminant Removal Mechanisms

4.2.3 In Situ Denitrification

4.2.4 Perchlorate Reduction

4.3 Engineered Aerobic Systems

4.3.1 Direct Aerobic Oxidation

4.3.1.1 Aerobic Cometabolic Oxidation

4.4.4.1 Oxidation of 1,4-Dioxane by Ozone

4.4.4.2 Biodegradation Enhanced by Chemical

Oxidation Pretreatment4.5 Nano-Scale Fe (0) Colloid Injection within an IRZ

4.5.1 Production of Nano-Scale Iron Particles

4.5.2 Injection of Nano-Scale Particles in Permeable Sediments4.5.3 Organic Contaminants Treatable by Fe (0)

5.3.5 Rhizodegradation

5.3.6 Rhizofiltration

5.3.7 Phytoremediation for Groundwater Containment

5.3.8 Phytoremediation of Dredged Sediments

5.4 Phytoremediation Design

5.4.1 Contaminant Levels

5.4.2 Plant Selection

5.4.3 Treatability

5.4.4 Irrigation, Agronomic Inputs, and Maintenance

5.4.5 Groundwater Capture Zone and Transpiration Rate

References

Chapter 6

Constructed Treatment Wetlands

6.1 Introduction

6.1.1 Beyond Municipal Wastewater

6.1.2 Looking Inside the “Black Box”

6.1.3 Potential “Attractive Nuisances”

6.1.4 Regulatory Uncertainty and Barriers

6.2 Types of Constructed Wetlands

6.2.1 Horizontal Flow Systems

6.2.2 Vertical Flow Systems

6.3 Microbial and Plant Communities of a Wetland

6.3.1 Bacteria and Fungi

6.3.2 Algae

6.3.3 Species of Vegetation for Treatment Wetland Systems

6.3.3.1 Free-Floating Macrophyte-Based Systems

6.3.3.2 Emergent Aquatic Macrophyte-Based Systems 6.3.3.3 Emergent Macrophyte-Based Systems with Horizontal

Subsurface Flow 6.3.3.4 Emergent Macrophyte-Based Systems with Vertical

Subsurface Flow 6.3.3.5 Submerged Macrophyte-Based Systems

6.3.3.6 Multistage Macrophyte-Based Treatment Systems6.4 Treatment-Wetland Soils

6.4.1 Cation Exchange Capacity

6.4.2 Oxidation and Reduction Reactions

6.4.3 pH

6.4.4 Biological Influences on Hydric Soils

6.4.5 Microbial Soil Processes

6.4.6 Treatment Wetland Soils

6.5 Contaminant Removal Mechanisms

6.5.1 Volatilization

6.5.2 Partitioning and Storage

6.5.3 Hydraulic Retention Time