For more information on Thermal Treatment - In Situ, please contact:
Jim CummingsTechnology Assessment Branch
PH: (703) 603-7197 | Email: cummings.james@epa.gov
Thermal Treatment: In Situ
Application
Cost and Performance Reports
Federal Remediation Technologies Roundtable.
- Contained Recovery of Oily Waste (CROWTM) Process at the Brodhead Creek Superfund Site, Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania (1997)
- Dual Auger Rotary Steam Stripping, Pinellas Northeast Site, Largo, Florida (1998)
- Dynamic Underground Stripping/Hydrous Pyrolysis Oxidation at the Savannah River Site 321-M Solvent Storage Tank Area, Aiken, South Carolina (2003)
- Dynamic Underground Stripping (DUS) Demonstration, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Gasoline Spill Site (1995)
- Electrical Resistive Heating at Charleston Naval Complex, AOC 607, North Charleston, South Carolina (2005)
- Electrical Resistive Heating at Hunter Army Airfield, Former Pumphouse #2, Savannah, Georgia (2005)
- Electric Resistive Heating at the Former Woodbriar and Westwood Dry Cleaning Facility Brookhill Azalea Shopping Center, Richmond, Virginia (2010)
- Electrical Resistive Heating at Poleline Road Disposal Area (PRDA), Arrays 4, 5, and 6, Fort Richardson, Alaska (2003)
- Electrical Resistive Heating at the Avery Dennison Site, Waukegan, Illinois (2003)
Electrical Resistive Heating at the ICN Pharmaceuticals Incorporated Site, Portland, Oregon (2007)
- Electrical Resistive Heating Treatment of DNAPL Source Zone at Launch Complex 34, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida (2003)
- Hydrous Pyrolysis Oxidation/Dynamic Underground Stripping (HPO/DUS): Visalia, California (2000)
- In Situ Conductive Heating at a Confidential Chemical Manufacturing Facility, Portland, Indiana (2003)
- In Situ Thermal Desorption at Rocky Mountain Arsenal Hex Pit Denver, Adams County, Colorado (2005)
- In Situ Thermal Desorption at the Missouri Electric Works Superfund Site, Cape Girardeau, Missouri (1998)
- Six Phase Soil Heating: Former Manufacturing Facility, Skokie, Illinois (1999)
- Six Phase Soil Heating at DOE's Savannah River Site, M Area, Aiken, South Carolina; and Hanford Site, 300-Area, Richland, Washington (1995)
- Soil Vapor Extraction Enhanced by Six-Phase Soil Heating: Fort Richardson Poleline Road Disposal Area, OU-B, Richardson, Alaska (1999)
- Steam Enhanced Extraction (SEE) at the A.G. Communications Systems Site, Northlake, Illinois (2003)
- Steam Enhanced Extraction and Electro-Thermal Dynamic Stripping Process (ET-DSPTM) at the Young-Rainy Star Center (formerly Pinellas) Northeast Area A, Largo, Florida (2003)
CROW TM Field Demonstration with Bell Lumber and Pole
L.A. Johnson; L.J. Fahy, Univ. of Wyoming Research Corp., Laramie.
WRI-02-R005, NTIS: DE2002-793528. 25 pp, 2002.
The Contained Recovery of Oily Waste (CROWTM) process involves hot water injection to displace and recover nonaqueous phase liquids.
CROWTM Process Application for Sites Contaminated with Light Non-Aqueous Phase Liquids and Chlorinated Hydrocarbons
L. A. Johnson Jr.
WRI-03-R009, 34 pp, 2003.
Combining Thermal Treatment with MNA at a Brownfield DNAPL Site
Heron, G., J. LaChance, J. Bierschenk, K. Parker, S. Vinci, R. Woodmansee, and J. Schneider.
Remediation of Chlorinated and Recalcitrant Compounds: Proceedings of the Seventh International Conference on Remediation of Chlorinated and Recalcitrant Compounds (Monterey, CA; May 2010). Paper 384, 2010
A heavily contaminated brownfield site in New York was remediated and redeveloped using a combination of in situ thermal desorption (ISTD) and monitored natural attenuation (NA). Four chlorinated VOC (PCE and TCE) source areas were addressed by the thermal technology, and NA of VOCs in the site groundwater is being monitored. About 86,000 lbs of volatile organics were extracted and treated on site. All the thermally treated areas met the negotiated cleanup standard. Based on current trends, all the wells likely will meet the cleanup goals within 5 or 10 years.
Conceptual Design and Cost Estimate: Six-Phase Soil Heating of the Saturated Zone Complex 34 Site at Cape Canaveral
R.J. Cameron and W.O. Heath.
AFRL-ML-TY-TR-1998-4523, NTIS: ADA352350. 45 pp, 1998.
Cost and Performance Review of Electrical Resistance Heating (ERH) for Source Treatment: Final Report
A. Gavaskar, M. Bhargava, and W. Condit.
Naval Facilities Engineering Service Center, TR-2279-ENV, 133 pp, 2007
The five projects examined in this review took place at four Navy sites and one NASA site, all affected primarily by one or more chlorinated solvent DNAPLs:
- Naval Weapons Industrial Reserve Plant Bedford (primarily TCE, plus 1,1,1-TCA, PCE, and breakdown products);
- Naval Complex Charleston (PCE and breakdown products);
- Former Naval Air Station Alameda (vinyl chloride, DCA, 1,2-DCA, 1,1-DCE, trans-1,2-DCE, cis-1,2-DCE, 1,1,1-TCA, 1,1,2-TCA, TCE, and PCE);
- Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune (1,1,2,2-PCA and TCE); and
- Cape Canaveral Air Station (TCE and PCE).
- 2008 Addendum: U.S. Naval Station Annapolis (TeCA, TCE, 1,1,2-TCA)
DNAPL Remediation: Selected Projects Where Regulatory Closure Goals Have Been Achieved
EPA 542-R-09-008, 2009
The purpose of this paper is to highlight sites where dense nonaqueous phase liquid (DNAPL) source reduction has been demonstrated as an aid in meeting regulatory cleanup goals. The presence of DNAPL in the subsurface can serve as a long-term source of dissolved contaminant plumes in groundwater, making it more difficult to reach regulatory closure. However, once the DNAPL source is addressed, residual groundwater plumes may be more amenable to treatment, including less aggressive techniques such as monitored natural attenuation (MNA) or bioremediation. This paper updates the document, DNAPL Remediation: Selected Projects Approaching Regulatory Closure, prepared in 2004 by providing more recent information on technologies and on five additional selected sites at which DNAPL source reduction technologies were applied.
A Demonstration of In Situ Thermal Desorption: Destruction of PCBs in Contaminated Soils at Mare Island Shipyard
C. Lonie, J. Reed, G. Brown, and A. Evan.
NFESC-TDS-2051-ENV, NTIS: ADA361264, 5 pp, 1998.
Demonstration of Radiofrequency Soil Decontamination
U.S. Air Force, Armstrong Laboratory Environics Directorate, Tyndall AFB, FL. AL/EQTR-1996-0040, 3 Vols, 1996.
Radiofrequency soil decontamination is essentially a heat-assisted soil vapor extraction process. Two patented techniques were demonstrated at Kelly AFB on a former sump contaminated with waste petroleum, lubricants, and solvents: in 1993, a technique developed by the ITT Research Institute using an array of electrodes placed in the soil, and in 1994, a technique developed by KAI Technologies, Inc., using a single applicator placed in a vertical borehole.
Demonstration of Resistive Heating Treatment of DNAPL Source Zone at Launch Complex 34 in Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. Final Innovative Technology Evaluation Report
Gavaskar, A., et al.
Report No: EPA 540-R-08-004, 133 pp + 241 pp of Appendices, Aug 2008
Demonstration of Steam Injection as an Enhanced Source Removal Technology for Aquifer Restoration
M.L. Gildea, W.L. Bratton, and L.D. Stewart. ARA-5241, NTIS: ADA364010, 335 pp, 1997.
Design, Demonstration and Evaluation of a Thermal Enhanced Vapor Extraction System
J. Phelan, B. Reavis, J. Swanson, [et al]. SAND-97-1251, 168 pp, 1997.
Electrical Resistance Heating (ERH) Technology Coupled with Air Sparging and Soil Vapor Extraction for Remediation of MTBE and BTEX in Soils and Groundwater in Ronan, Montana
J. Kuhn, K. Manchester, and P. Skibicki.
Montana Department of Environmental Quality, Butte, MT. 8 pp, 2004.
Electrical Resistance Heating of Soils at C-Reactor at the Savannah River Site
M.R. Morgenstern, J.A. Amari, A.M. MacMurray, M.E. Farrar, T.P. Killeen, and R.F. Blundy.
WSRC-STI-2007-00488, 18 pp, 2007
An interim action was selected in 2004 to remove residual TCE source material by ERH technology coupled with SVE, with subsequent monitoring to determine the rate of decrease in the contaminant plume's concentration. A portable ERH/SVE system was deployed at multiple locations around the site. Extensive data were obtained from the first deployment, which heated the vadose zone down to 62 ft bgs over a 60-day period during the summer of 2006 and raised soil temperatures to over 200 degrees F. This treatment extracted 730 lbs of TCE, and subsequent sampling indicated a removal efficiency of 99.4%.
Electrical Resistance Heating of Volatile Organic Compounds in Sedimentary Rock
Kluger, M. and G.L. Beyke.
Remediation Journal, Vol 20 No 4, p 69-82, 2010
This paper describes the implementation issues for remediation of contaminated sedimentary bedrock and provides case studies of three sites where ERH was used: Annapolis, Maryland (TeCA); Fair Lawn, New Jersey (PCE); and Greensburg, Indiana (TCE and PCE). Abstract
Electrical Resistive Heating Web Case Study
U.S. Navy, Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Environmental Restoration Technology Transfer, Multimedia Training Tools website, 44 pp, 2005.
Fabrication and Testing for Solar Detoxification Project
S. Doty, N. Widmer, K. Beninga, and J. Cole. SFIM-AEC-ET-CR-97038, NTIS: ADA337946, 121 pp, 1997.
The pilot-scale demonstration test focused on evaluating ultraviolet-rich solar destruction of volatile organic compounds and semi-volatile organics by a solar incinerator and the environmental control of the resulting off-gases.
Field Evaluation of Terratherm In Situ Thermal Destruction (ISTD) Treatment of Hexachlorocyclopentadiene: Innovative Technology Evaluation Report
U.S. EPA, Superfund Innovative Site Evaluation (SITE) Program, Washington, DC.
EPA 540-R-05-007, 63 pp, 2004.
Final Report: Cost & Performance Analysis for Thermal Enhancements at Selected Sites
U.S. Air Force Center for Environmental Excellence, 2005
Improving the Sustainability of Source Removal
Baker, R.S., T. Burdett, S.G. Nielsen, M. Faurbye, N. Ploug, J. Holm, U. Hiester, & V. Schrenk.
Sustainable Remediation 2011: State of the Practice — International Conference, June 1-3, 2011, University of Amherst, Massachusetts. 8 pp and 29 slides, 2011
Life-cycle analyses (LCAs) were conducted for four sites in Germany where SVE was later followed by in situ thermal remediation (ISTR) using steam injection (3 sites) or conductive heating (1 site), and at one site in Denmark, where SVE and ISTR were compared with excavation/off-site treatment, and SVE was again followed by ISTR. (In situ thermal desorption was eventually implemented at the Denmark site.) Site-specific conditions varied, but each of the LCAs showed that SVE consumed more energy, produced more waste, and generated more greenhouse gases than ISTR, while requiring a lengthy or even indefinite period of time to achieve site closure. Slide presentation, Paper
In Situ Radio Frequency Heating (ISRFH) of Hydrocarbon Contaminated Chalk at a Former Service Station in Kent
CL:AIRE, London, UK. TDP28, 6 pp, 2011
The RF technology used in the 1990s in the United States had relatively limited use compared to other thermal remediation technologies. The UFZ Centre for Environmental Research Leipzig-Halle (Germany) has developed the ISRFH process and teamed with Ecologia to commercialize it. Through a series of in situ pilot tests, Ecologia developed the electrode design and array, which features specially designed electrodes that are very cheap to manufacture, have a significant radius of influence (i.e., >2.5 m from the electrodes), and deliver the heat selectively at discrete depths to target hot spots. Coupled with an SVE system, RF can achieve very efficient remediation of contaminated soil and groundwater, as was demonstrated in a 2008 field trial conducted at a former service station to remove volatile and semi-volatile organic constituents of gasoline and diesel from a chalk subsurface.
In Situ Soil and Groundwater Decontamination Using Electric Resistive Heating Technology (Six-Phase Heating)
CL:AIRE Technology Demonstration Project Bulletin 26 (TDP 26), 6 pp, 2008
This bulletin describes the UK's first use of six-phase heating to accomplish source removal of contaminants resulting from historic contamination of a former tools manufacturing site. Investigations at the 2-hectare site showed high levels of dissolved, adsorbed, and free-phase chlorinated hydrocarbons, primarily TCE and vinyl chloride in the soil and TCE in the groundwater. Post-remediation validation sampling results showed final reductions in adsorbed and dissolved-phase TCE concentrations in excess of 98 and 99%, respectively, at the end of 20 weeks. System redesign and continuous close monitoring and optimization throughout the project maintained elevated contaminant extraction rates and allowed considerable savings.
In Situ Thermal Treatment Site Profile Database
U.S. EPA, Technology Innovation Program.
The In Situ Thermal Treatment Site Profile Database was developed to capture data on sites deploying heat-based remediation approaches. This database provides information about completed and ongoing applications of in situ thermal technologies to treat chlorinated solvents, oils and petroleum products, polychlorinated biphenyls, and wood-preserving compounds in groundwater and soil.
In Situ Thermal Treatment of Chlorinated Solvents: Fundamentals and Field Applications
EPA 542-R-04-010, 145 pp, 2004.
This report contains information about the use of in situ thermal treatment technologies to treat chlorinated solvents in source zones containing free-phase contamination or high concentrations of contaminants that are either sorbed to soil or dissolved in groundwater.
Innovative Technology Summary Report: Remediation of DNAPLs in Low Permeability Soils
U.S. DOE, Office of Environmental Management.
DOE/EM-0550, 35 pp, 2000.
DOE conducted a 1996-1998 comparative field demonstration of hydraulic fracturing to address TCE contamination at the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant. Fractures in both the vadose and saturated zones within low permeability silt and clay deposits were used for soil vapor extraction enhanced by the introduction of steam and hot air, as well as for the emplacement of reactive barriers of iron metal and potassium permanganate.
Innovative Technology Summary Report: Six Phase Soil Heating
U.S. DOE, Office of Environmental Management.
DOE/EM-0272, 30 pp, 1995.
New Advancements for In Situ Treatment Using Electrical Resistance Heating
T. Powell, G. Smith, J. Sturza, K. Lynch, and M. Truex.
Remediation, Vol 17 No 2, p 51-70, 2007
At the Fort Lewis, Washington, East Gate Disposal Yard, chlorinated solvents (primarily TCE) and petroleum products are being treated in situ in several contaminant source areas using electrical resistance heating (ERH) and multiphase extraction. This paper updates the progress of the project and discusses data that provide insights into the biotic and abiotic degradation processes observed throughout the range of operating temperatures.
Performance Evaluation of Technology Demonstration for Dynamic Underground Stripping with Hydrous Pyrolysis Oxidation (DUS/HPO) Using a Single Well at Beale Air Force Base
W.S. Yoon, A. Gavaskar, S. McCall, J. Sminchak, S. Carroll, G. Heron, and J. Hicks.
Environmental Security Technology Certification Program (ESTCP), Project ER-0014, 366 pp, Apr 2005
Evaluates a demonstration of DUS/HPO technology using a single well in a groundwater plume of dissolved-phase TCE and PCE at Beale Air Force Base, where contaminant levels showed declining trends—up to 85% in TCE levels and up to 91% in PCE levels—in the treatment zone monitoring wells.
Six-Phase Soil Heating of the Saturated Zone, Dover Air Force Base, Delaware
T.M. Bergsman and L.M. Peurrung.
NTIS: ADA332710, 71 pp, 1997.
Southern California Edison Co. (Visalia Poleyard)
Contact (2007): Emmanuel Mensah, State of California, EMensah@dtsc.ca.gov, 916-255-3704
The 20-acre site was operated as a utility pole treatment yard from the 1920s until 1980, and approximately 275,000 poles were treated at the site. Wood preservatives, including 2,500,000 gallons of creosote and 900,000 gallons of pentachlorophenol, were used and stored on site during site operations. In 1977, a slurry wall was built to slow contaminant migration in the shallow aquifer. Southern California Edison, the potentially responsible party, removed all facilities and 2,300 cubic yards of contaminated soil and disposed of it off site at an approved disposal facility. The site has a subsurface barrier wall and a groundwater extraction and on-site treatment system. Starting in 1997, a pre-design pilot-scale steam injection system was installed. It injected over 100,000,000 pounds of steam, which greatly enhanced recovery of pole-treating chemicals. In addition, a full-scale steam injection system was used over a 30-month period to remove and destroy over 150,000 gallons of contamination from the site. Once the subsurface temperature dropped below 70°C, vadose zone bioventing and saturated zone biosparging operated with continued groundwater pump and treat from June 2000 until March 2004. Following the 2005 5-year review, contaminated surface soil to 10 feet below grade was removed in July 2006 and verified with confirmatory sampling to be below the prescribed cleanup standards. The final site closeout report was signed on May 19, 2009. Additional information: In Situ Destruction of Contaminants via Hydrous Pyrolysis/Oxidation: Visalia Field Test (1998); Innovative Technology Summary Report: Hydrous Pyrolysis Oxidation/Dynamic Underground Stripping (2000).
Steam Enhanced Remediation Research for DNAPL in Fractured Rock: Loring Air Force Base, Limestone, Maine
E. Davis, N. Akladiss, R. Hoey, B. Brandon, M. Nalipinski, S. Carroll, G. Heron, K. Novakowski, and K. Udell.
EPA 540-R-05-010, 194 pp, 2005.
Steam and Electroheating Remediation of Tight Soils
K. Biddle-Balshaw, C.L. Oubre, and C. H. Ward.
Lewis Publishers, Boca Raton, FL. ISBN: 1566704650, 448 pp, 1999.
Presents the results of a field study testing the cleanup of semi-volatile fuels from tight soils using a combination of hydraulic fracturing, soil heating, and vapor extraction. Contains computer modeling analysis, Fort Hood field site description, performance data evaluation, design criteria developed from field performance data, and technical and cost evaluations.
Technical Performance Evaluation for Phase I of the C-400 Interim Remedial Action at the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant, Paducah, Kentucky
U.S. DOE, Portsmouth/Paducah Project Office.
DOE/LX/07-1260&D1, 190 pp, Aug 2011
Phase I implementation of ERH was conducted as the C-400 IRA remedy to remove VOC contamination, mainly TCE, from subsurface soils. Full operation began at the end of March 2010, and heating ended at the end of October 2010, while SVE continued until all system operations ended on December 4, 2010. Post-operational sampling results show average percent reductions in contaminant concentrations of 95% for soil and 76% for groundwater in the east area, and 99% for both soil and groundwater in the southwest area. Target temperatures were not attained in the electrically resistive deep regional gravel aquifer due to groundwater flow velocity, formation resistivity, and heat loss by convective flow.
Thermal Treatment of Thick Peat Layers: DNAPL Removal and Shrinkage
Nielsen, S.G., G. Heron, P.J. Jensen, C. Riis, T. Heron, P. Johansen, N. Ploug, and J. Holm.
CONSOIL 2010, 22-24 September, Salzburg, Austria.
A PCE DNAPL source zone in a wetland area in Denmark was treated using thermal conduction heating combined with multi-phase extraction. Based on the results of a 2006 pilot test of In-Situ Thermal Desorption (ISTD), the source area was hydraulically isolated by installation of metal sheet piles for more effective heating and remediation. The DNAPL source zone was treated thermally at 100 degrees C using ISTD. Thick peat layers contaminated with PCE DNAPL were remediated to average soil PCE concentrations of 0.17 mg/kg (99.6% reduction compared to starting levels) in 83 days of heating.
USA Defense Depot Memphis
U.S. EPA Region 4 Web site.
The most consistently detected VOC group of chemicals at concentrations above comparison criteria in the site media are CVOCs, such as TCE, PCE, 1,1,2,2-PCA, carbon tetrachloride, and chloroform. The final ROD (2004) for Dunn Field calls for excavation and off-site disposal of the contents of pits and burial trenches, SVE of principal-threat waste in the unsaturated subsurface soils, treatment of the groundwater CVOCs via injection of ZVI, and installation of a ZVI PRB to address high groundwater concentrations downgradient of Dunn Field. SVE operation began in the VOC-contaminated sand and gravel layer beneath source areas in July 2007. In situ thermal desorption (ISTD) began in the VOC-contaminated silty clay zone (top 30 ft) in May 2008. VOC removals for all remedies to date (soil and groundwater) totals ~9,000 pounds. A revised proposed plan and ROD amendment are planned for 2009 to document changes undertaken to achieve the remedial action objectives of the original ROD.
Water as a Reagent for Soil Remediation
I.S. Jayaweera, M. Marti-Perez, J. Diaz-Ferrero, A. Sanjurjo, SRI International. DOE/BC/15224-1, 81 pp, 2001.
Hot water extraction (HWE) technology is being developed for remediating petroleum-contaminated soils and sediments. The HWE process involves using water with added electrolytes as the extracting solvent under subcritical conditions (150 to 300 degrees C). The electrolytes allow the reactors to operate under mild conditions at high separation efficiencies. Unlike common organic solvents, water under subcritical conditions dissolves both organics and inorganics, thus allowing opportunities for separation of both organic and inorganic material from soil. Most of the basic components of this technique are mature technologies: steam stripping, soil washing, and thermal desorption.
Western Research Institute: Contained Recovery of Oily Wastes (CROW) Process. Innovative Technology Evaluation Report
EPA 540-R-00-500, 112 pp, 2000.
The CROW hot-water injection technology was demonstrated at the Brodhead Creek Superfund site in Stroudsburg, PA, over a 20-month period. The injection and recovery wells targeted an accumulation of free-phase coal tar.
