Method for manipulating smoldering combustion to remediate porous media impacted by recalcitrant compounds
AssigneeGeosyntec Consultants, Inc.
InventorsGavin Grant, David Major, Grant Scholes, Jason Gerhard
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Abstract
A method for remediating a contaminated porous matrix including selecting the type and quantity of organic fuel to create a smolderable mixture of the organic fuel and contaminated porous matrix, and controlling the rate of oxidant addition to manipulate the relative proportions of oxidative breakdown products, non-oxidative breakdown products, and non-destructive remediation processes. The method further involves collecting the volatilized contaminant, and any gaseous breakdown products of the contaminant.
Claims25
A method for remediating a contaminated porous matrix material, the method comprising:
- selecting the type and quantity of an organic fuel;
- providing a smolderable mixture of the organic fuel and the contaminated porous matrix material;
- initiating self-sustaining smoldering combustion of the smolderable mixture;
- controlling the proportion of thermal desorption versus oxidative destruction versus non-oxidative destruction of the contaminant, so that at least a collectible portion of a contaminant is volatilized;
- and
- collecting the volatilized contaminant,
- wherein the proportion of thermal desorption versus oxidative destruction versus non-oxidative destruction of the contaminant is controlled by controlling the rate of oxidant addition to the smolderable mixture, and one or more of controlling the type and quantity of the organic fuel, and inclusion of a heat sink.
A method for remediating a contaminated porous matrix material comprising:
- selecting the type and quantity of an organic fuel;
- providing a smolderable mixture of the organic fuel and a contaminated porous matrix material;
- initiating the self-sustaining smoldering combustion of the smolderable mixture;
- controlling the proportion of thermal desorption versus oxidative destruction versus non-oxidative destruction of the contaminant, so that a portion of a contaminant is broken down into at least one collectable portion of a gaseous breakdown product, and so that at least a collectible portion of the contaminant is volatilized;
- and
- collecting the volatilized contaminant and the gaseous breakdown product of the contaminant,
- wherein the gaseous breakdown product is formed by one or both of oxidative destruction and non-oxidative destruction;
- wherein the proportion of thermal desorption versus oxidative destruction versus non-oxidative destruction of the contaminant is controlled by controlling the rate of oxidant addition to the smolderable mixture, and one or more of controlling the type and quantity of the organic fuel, and inclusion of a heat sink.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.