A single injection of 3-D Microemulsion on a wide injection grid

Summary

The groundwater under a larger former industrial site was impacted with chlorinated solvents, which required remediation as part of the redevelopment of the property. The contamination had entered permeable saturated gravels and was distributed over a wide area to a depth of 6 m BGL. This meant that any solution needed to be not only technically suitable, but also cost effective.

Treatment

3-D Microemulsion® (3DMe) was injected across the site to drive enhanced reductive dechlorination of the chlorinated solvents. 3DMe is designed to self-distribute in the subsurface, without washing out of the target area. This produces very large radii of influence from the injection locations, allowing the application grid to be widened, reducing the cost and time onsite.

Because of this, the site works only took 12 days to inject 126 locations on a 10m by 10m injection grid, using 2 direct push rigs and a mobile injection unit.

What’s Special?

• The 3DMe produced enhanced reductive dechlorination of the contamination across the site; reducing the parent compounds and fully mineralising the breakdown products.
• The site redevelopment stalled and so the site was monitored for an extended period. Some small influxes of residual parent compounds were encountered, but as 3DMe is active for 4-5 years, these were quickly reduced once more.
• The self-distribution and longevity of 3DMe allowed for the cost effective treatment of a very large contaminant plume.