Thermal remediation of soil and groundwater contamination

摘要

Thermal remediation technologies are gaining acceptance for in situ clean up of subsurface contamination by non-aqueous phase liquid. That acceptance stems from several features unique to thermal approaches: a solid record of field successes at well-documented demonstrations, the robustness of the technologies if implemented correctly, the solid scientific basis of the mechanisms that can be exploited, and the relatively low actual cost of implementation. There are current obstacles to their acceptance however. The general lack of experience in thermal remediation is a major obstacle. The speed of remediation by thermal techniques is a disadvantage when comparing them on a present value basis to ineffective approaches that minimize costs to comply with current regulations. But as confidence and experience is gained, and regulations adjust to encourage clean up rather than indefinite containment, thermal techniques are expected to become quite popular. This paper is prepared to address a few of the technical issues to help the interested reader match these techniques to sites that are well-suited for such approaches.