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THE IN SITU TREATMENT OF BTEX, MTBE, AND TBA IN SALINE GROUNDWATER
McGregor, R. and F. Vakili.
Remediation 29(4):107-116(2019)

A 700-day pilot test was carried out in a saline unconfined petroleum hydrocarbon (PHC)-impacted aquifer to evaluate the performance of an engineered, combined remedy employing in situ chemical oxidation (ISCO) and enhanced bioremediation (EBR) in a sequence. The PHC plume contained BTEX, MTBE, and TBA concentrations of ≤4,584; 55,182; and 1,880 ug/L, respectively. A 13,826-L solution of unactivated sodium persulfate (Na2S2O8, 19.4 wt%) was injected into a series of wells installed within the PHC plume. Persulfate injection resulted in mean total concentration decreases for BTEX (≤91%), MTBE (≤39%), and TBA (58%) over the first 50 days post-injection. Between days 51 and 487, BTEX concentrations decreased an additional 84% and MTBE an additional 33% due to EBR, noted by the lack of persulfate measured in the plume. TBA first decreased initially but increased as the sulfate concentration decreased from MTBE degradation. Isotope analyses of dissolved sulfate (34S and 18O), and compound-specific isotope analysis of benzene and MTBE (13C and 2H) showed that ISCO and EBR processes occurred at different stages and locations within the plume over time.



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