Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
CaseStudy5.2 Large-ScaleCombinedBioremediation
(Kopmanholmens,Sweden)
Large former industrial sites, particularly those with a long and varied history of
use, can often be host to more than one species of contamination, which poses an
obvious challenge for remediation.
One solution to this problem lies in deploying a small portfolio of appropriate
bioremediation techniques, and by thus combining in-situand ex-situmethodologies
achieve the necessary synergy for effective treatment. Such an approach self-
evidently requires careful management to ensure its efficacy, but, as in the case of
the Kopmanholmen's former industrial site, it can prove particularly successful.
The site itself had previously homed chlorine, sulphur and cellulose factories
as well as a timber yard, leading to contamination with oil, turpentine, mer-
cury and PAHs. Tasked with the clean-up by the Ornsk oldsvik municipality and
Naturvardsverket - the Swedish EPA - MB Envirotech faced the demolition of some
3000 tonnes of concrete foundations, the removal of more than half a kilometre
of wastewater pipework and the excavation and ex-situ remediation of around
50 000m 3 of contaminated soil.
The treatment plan they instigated involved a two-phase approach, over an
18-24 months timescale, to first control the extent and spread of contami-
nants and then subsequently remediate the soil and groundwater to acceptable
levels for its future planned use. The biotechnologies involved included biovent-
ing, bioslurping - a combination process to remove free-phase contaminants and
simultaneously bioremediate the soils of the vadose zone - and direct groundwa-
ter amelioration.
The results of projects such as this, which saw some 15 000m 3 of soil cleaned
within the first six months, has helped to establish bioremediation as a viable option
for large-scale applications and raised the bar on the clean-up of multi-use former
industrial sites.
Search WWH ::




Custom Search