Chapter 4
Comparing the Efficiency of Oxidation,
Sparging, Surfactant Flushing,
and Thermal Treatment at Different Scales
(Batch, Column, Metric Pilot)
Florie Jousse, Patrick Höhener, Grégory Cohen, and Olivier Atteia
Abstract Several remediation techniques are available to treat source zones with
Non-Aqueous Phase Liquids (NAPLs). Despite hundreds of treated sites, it is still
quite difficult to estimate the potential efficiency of a treatment technique under a
given context. In the literature, numerous papers deal with the potential limitations of
one remediation technique at a laboratory scale or in the field, but only a few studies
compared two or more different techniques. Thus, the objective of this chapter is to
compare different treatment techniques in the same solid matrix and under the same
conditions at three different experimental scales: batch, columns, and metric pilot
tank experiments. The chosen techniques are among the most common ones, i.e.,
oxidation, sparging, surfactant flushing, and low-temperature thermal treatment.
These four techniques were applied first at the batch and column scale in order to
assess their potential efficiency under well-controlled conditions. These experiments
are mandatory for choosing the best oxidant, the activating agents for this oxidant,
the best concentration, and the determination of the limiting factors which can be
encountered. All these lab experiments allowed a selection of favorable conditions
for testing four techniques at the pilot scale. These treatment techniques were tested
in the same configuration, in tanks of one cubic meter volume, filled with sand and
emplaced sources containing a toluene/decane mixture as representative of a NAPL
phase. The major findings of this study are: (1) Thermal treatment was the most
efficient remediation technique; (2) Dissolution issues reduced the efficiency of the
three other techniques; (3) Heterogeneity in the tanks caused a decrease in the
removal efficiency for all treatments compared to efficiencies obtained at the column
F. Jousse · G. Cohen · O. Atteia (*)
Bordeaux INP – ENSEGID, EA 4592 Géoressources Environnement – Carnot ISIFoR, Pessac,
France
e-mail: olivier.atteia@ensegid.fr
P. Höhener
Laboratoire Chimie Environnement (UMR 7376), Aix-Marseille University - CNRS, Marseille,
France
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
E. D. van Hullebusch et al. (eds.), Environmental Soil Remediation
and Rehabilitation, Applied Environmental Science and Engineering for a
Sustainable Future, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-40348-5_4
211
Comparing the Efficiency of Oxidation,
Sparging, Surfactant Flushing,
and Thermal Treatment at Different Scales
(Batch, Column, Metric Pilot)
Florie Jousse, Patrick Höhener, Grégory Cohen, and Olivier Atteia
Abstract Several remediation techniques are available to treat source zones with
Non-Aqueous Phase Liquids (NAPLs). Despite hundreds of treated sites, it is still
quite difficult to estimate the potential efficiency of a treatment technique under a
given context. In the literature, numerous papers deal with the potential limitations of
one remediation technique at a laboratory scale or in the field, but only a few studies
compared two or more different techniques. Thus, the objective of this chapter is to
compare different treatment techniques in the same solid matrix and under the same
conditions at three different experimental scales: batch, columns, and metric pilot
tank experiments. The chosen techniques are among the most common ones, i.e.,
oxidation, sparging, surfactant flushing, and low-temperature thermal treatment.
These four techniques were applied first at the batch and column scale in order to
assess their potential efficiency under well-controlled conditions. These experiments
are mandatory for choosing the best oxidant, the activating agents for this oxidant,
the best concentration, and the determination of the limiting factors which can be
encountered. All these lab experiments allowed a selection of favorable conditions
for testing four techniques at the pilot scale. These treatment techniques were tested
in the same configuration, in tanks of one cubic meter volume, filled with sand and
emplaced sources containing a toluene/decane mixture as representative of a NAPL
phase. The major findings of this study are: (1) Thermal treatment was the most
efficient remediation technique; (2) Dissolution issues reduced the efficiency of the
three other techniques; (3) Heterogeneity in the tanks caused a decrease in the
removal efficiency for all treatments compared to efficiencies obtained at the column
F. Jousse · G. Cohen · O. Atteia (*)
Bordeaux INP – ENSEGID, EA 4592 Géoressources Environnement – Carnot ISIFoR, Pessac,
France
e-mail: olivier.atteia@ensegid.fr
P. Höhener
Laboratoire Chimie Environnement (UMR 7376), Aix-Marseille University - CNRS, Marseille,
France
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
E. D. van Hullebusch et al. (eds.), Environmental Soil Remediation
and Rehabilitation, Applied Environmental Science and Engineering for a
Sustainable Future, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-40348-5_4
211