Self-Sustaining Treatment for Active Remediation (STAR): Overview of the Technology and Lessons Learned from Six Years of Treatability Testing(ABSTRACT)

摘要

Self-sustaining Treatment for Active Remediation (STAR; PCT Application PCT/GB2006/004591, priority date December 2005)—based on smoldering combustion technology in porous media—is an innovative approach that has significant potential for the remediation of soils impacted by recalcitrant compounds such as coal tar, creosote, petroleum hydrocarbons and chlorinated solvents. STAR has the potential to provide cost effective and technically efficient remediation of nonaqueousphase liquid (NAPL) contaminated soils due to a number of key properties of the process: (1) STAR requires only a short duration energy input (i.e., ignition) at a single location to initiate the reaction; (2) STAR is then self-sustaining, such that the reaction propagates itself through the coal tar source zone without additional energy input; (3) STAR is selftargeting, such that the reaction naturally tracks through the subsurface zones occupied by coal tar; (4) STAR is self-terminating, such that the reaction naturally ceases when no coal tar remains; and (5) STAR avoids injecting costly fluids or conveying coal tar or contaminated groundwater to the surface for treatment.