Innovative In-Situ Remediation of Contaminated Sediments for Simultaneous Control of Contamination and Erosion. Part 1

Abstract

Active or reactive capping, is the application of a relatively thin layer of reactive material to the sediment to physically and chemically reduce contaminant mobility and/or bioavailability. This project addressed high priority research needs related to developing/selecting active capping materials and cap designs for contaminant sequestration under a range of aquatic sediment conditions and assessing the ability of innovative amendments to immobilize a variety of organic and inorganic contamination and resist erosion in situ. The active capping technology under study consisted of the in situ application of phosphate materials, organoclays, and biopolymer products. The amendments were selected based on the proven ability of phosphate-based materials to stabilize metals, of organoclays to bind nonpolar pollutants such as PCBs and PAHs, and of biopolymers and their cross-link networks to act as plugging agents that bind contaminants. We theorized that phosphate amendments, organoclays, and the cross-link biopolymer products would complement each other to stabilize a wider range of organic and inorganic compounds than they could individually. This project included laboratory studies that researched fundamental aspects of active cap design followed by a pilotscale field study that evaluated newly developed active caps under realistic conditions. Numerical simulations were used to determine how active caps composed of promising amendments and amendment mixtures affected the diffusive and advective transport of contaminants from the sediment surface into the water column. Procedures were developed for making biopolymer materials that contributed to erosion resistance.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Aug 01, 2011
Accession Number
ADA551914

Entities

People

  • Danny Reible
  • Iona Petrisor
  • Jesse Roberts
  • Kenneth Dixon

Organizations

  • Savannah River National Laboratory

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • Ground and Sea Platforms

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Aqueous Solutions
  • Chemical Synthesis
  • Chemistry
  • Climate Change
  • Ecotoxicology
  • Environment
  • Environmental Protection
  • Environmental Restoration And Remediation
  • Liquid Chromatography
  • Mass Spectrometry
  • Materials Science
  • Materials Testing
  • Measurement
  • Mechanical Properties
  • Organic Chemistry

Fields of Study

  • Environmental science

Readers

  • Groundwater Contamination Remediation.
  • Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry
  • Systems Analysis and Design