In situ destruction of contaminants via hydrous pyrolysis

A field test of hydrous pyrolysis/oxidation (HPO) was conducted during the summer of 1997, during a commercial application of thermal remediation (Dynamic Underground Stripping (DUS)) at the Visalia Pole Yard (a super-fund site) in southern California. At Visalia, Southern California Edison Co. is applying the DUS thermal remediation method to clean up a large (4.3 acre) site contaminated with pole-treating compounds. This is a full-scale cleanup, during which initial extraction of contaminants is augmented by combined steam/air injection in order to enhance the destruction of residual contaminants by HPO. Laboratory results indicate that the contaminants at Visaha react at similar rates to TCE, which has been the focus of extensive laboratory work (Knauss et al., 1998a-c). Field experimental results from this application yield valuable information (1) confirming the destruction of contaminants in soil and groundwater by HPO, (2) validating the predictive models used to design HP0 steam injection systems, (3) demonstrating that accurate field measurements of the critical fluid parameters can be obtained using existing monitoring wells and (4) obtaining a reasonable prediction of the cost and effectiveness of HPO, working at a commercial scale and with commercial partners. The goal of our additional study and demonstration in conjunction withmore » Edison has been to obtain early proof of hydrous pyrolysis/oxidation in the field, and validate our predictive models and monitoring strategies. This demonstration provides valuable economic and practicability data obtained on a commercial scale, with more detailed field validation than is commonly available on a commercially-conducted cleanup. The results of LLNL s field experiments constrain the destruction rates throughout the site, and enable site management to make accurate estimates of total in situ destruction based on the recovered carbon. As of October, 1998, over 900,000 lb of contaminant have been removed from the site; about 18% of this has been destroyed in situ.« less