A case study is presented where the feasibility of bioventing was assessed for the remediation of a petroleum-contaminated site. This was achieved through the determination of the radius of influence of a single vent well, the soil gas permeability of the site and the oxygen utilisation rate of the in situ micro-organisms. The on-site test used one vent well and three monitoring wells. A radius of influence of 9.5 m was determined. A soil gas permeability of 3.8 Darcy was measured. The oxygen utilisation of 1.32% (v/v) O-2/h indicated that an active microbial population existed in situ. The theoretical biodegradation rate was calculated to be 752 mg hydrocarbon (based on hexane)/kg soil-month. Based on these results, bioventing was found to be a feasible bioremediation option for cleanup of the site, provided that other soil conditions were suitable for biological activity.
Reference:
Pearce, K and Pretorius, WA. 1998. Bioventing feasibility test to aid remediation strategy. Water SA, vol. 21(1), pp 5-9
Pearce, K., & Pretorius, W. (1998). Bioventing feasibility test to aid remediation strategy. http://hdl.handle.net/10204/2041
Pearce, K, and WA Pretorius "Bioventing feasibility test to aid remediation strategy." (1998) http://hdl.handle.net/10204/2041
Pearce K, Pretorius W. Bioventing feasibility test to aid remediation strategy. 1998; http://hdl.handle.net/10204/2041.
