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SUSTAINABLE LINDANE WASTE REMEDIATION: SURFACTANT-DRIVEN RESIDUAL DNAPL EXTRACTION AND OXIDATION IN A REAL LANDFILL (LIFE SURFING)
Fernandez, J., D. Lorenzo, J. Net, E. Cano, P. Saez, C. Herranz, C.M. Dominguez, S. Cotillas, and A. Santos. ǀ Science of The Total Environment 934:173260(2024)
Filed Under: Demonstrations
Filed Under: Demonstrations
Surfactant Enhanced Aquifer Remediation (SEAR) and in situ chemical oxidation (S-ISCO) were employed in the LIFE SURFING Project to remediate an aquifer contaminated with DNAPL from nearby lindane production at the Bailin Landfill in Sabinanigo, Spain. The project overcame traditional extraction limitations and prevented groundwater contamination from reaching the river. Two SEAR interventions involved injecting 9.3 m3 (SEAR-1) and 6 m3 (SEAR-2) of aqueous solutions containing 20 g/L of the non-ionic surfactant E-Mulse 3®, with bromide (~150 mg/L) serving as a conservative tracer. In SEAR-1 and SEAR-2, 7.1 and 6.0 m3 were extracted, respectively, 60-70% of the injected bromide and 30-40 % of the surfactant were recovered, confirming surfactant soil adsorption. About 130 kg of DNAPL were removed, with >90% mobilized and 10% solubilized. A surfactant-to-DNAPL recovery mass ratio of 2.6 was obtained, a successful value for a fractured aquifer. The S-ISCO phase entailed injecting 22 m3 of a solution containing persulfate (40 g/L), E-Mulse 3 (4 g/L), and NaOH (8.75 g/L) in pulses over 48 h, oxidizing ~20 kg of DNAPL and ensuring low toxicity levels. Preceding the SEAR and S-ISCO trials, time was dedicated to detailed groundwater flow characterizations, including hydrological and tracer studies, which allowed the design of a barrier zone between 317 and 557 m from the test cell and the river, situated 900 m from the site. This zone, which integrated alkali dosing, aeration, vapor extraction, and oxidant injection, effectively prevented fluid escape. Neither surfactants nor contaminants were detected in river waters post-treatment. No residual phase in test cell wells and reduced chlorinated compounds in groundwater were detected until one year after S-ISCO.



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