Abstracts

This presentation will provide an overview of the on-going full scale application of
Self-Sustaining Treatment for Active Remediation (STAR) to treat soils at a former
cresol manufacturing facility in New Jersey. The remedy objective is to remove residual
free product to the extent practicable. Non aqueous phase liquid (NAPL) smoldering is
different from existing thermal remediation techniques. NAPL smoldering aims to create
a combustion front that (i) initiates at a single location with the NAPL-occupied porous
medium, (ii) is initiated with a one-time, short-duration energy input and not continuous
application of energy, and (iii) destroys the NAPL wherever the front passes. Two successful
pilot tests were previously conducted. These pilot tests were conducted to evaluate
key design parameters such as: contaminant mass destruction rates; treatment radius of
influence (ROI); and, vapor emissions levels. A feasibility and sustainability evaluation
was conducted and STAR was selected as the remedy for on-site soils. A detailed high
resolution site characterization program was completed to confirm the treatment area and
to more accurately delineate the areas for treatment (i.e., NAPL). In 2014 site preparations
were completed and the first treatment train was designed and built. TarGOST®
and confirmatory borings indicate that upwards of 900 tons of residual NAPL exist at the
site. STAR treatment began in late 2014 and is estimated to require 2 years to treat the
free product NAPL. The presentation will provide an overview of the STAR process, the
NAPL estimation methodology and discuss the activities to date in this multiyear remediation
program. Advanced site characterization tools are vital for evaluating and refining
the total treatment area and focusing innovative remediation technologies to where success
can be achieved.
284 - Two-Dimensional Numerical Modelling of STAR to Optimize
Smouldering Combustion for NAPL Remediation
Rebecca L. Solinger, & Jason I. Gerhard
Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering – The University of Western Ontario,
London, Ontario, Canada
Gavin Grant
Savron, Guelph, Ontario, Canada
“Self-sustaining Treatment for Active Remediation” (STAR) is an emerging technology
for the remediation of soils impacted with non-aqueous phase liquids (NAPLs). STAR
uses energy generated from an exothermic combustion reaction to propagate a self-sustaining
smouldering front through contaminated soil, leaving soil behind the front effectively
remediated. The approach is being applied in pilot tests and at full scale for both in situ and
ex situ applications. A two-dimensional in situ smouldering model (ISSM) was developed
by MacPhee et. al (2012) to simulate the propagation of the smouldering front during
STAR. Hassan (2013) then calibrated the ISSM to data from bench-scale experiments,
providing confidence that the model predicted both the spreading pattern and ultimate
extinction of the front in two dimensions. The model uniquely combines a multiphase
flow simulator, which predicts the evolving air velocity field as remediation occurs, with
an analytical combustion spread model that tracks the complex smouldering front while
accounting for soil and contaminant heterogeneity. This work is applying the ISSM to
112 IAH-CNC 2015 WATERLOO CONFERENCE