In Situ flushing of contaminated soils from a refinery: Organic compounds and metal removals

• Published in: Remediation (New York, N.Y.) Vol. 14; no. 2; pp. 141 - 152
• Main Authors: Iturbe, Rosario, Flores, Carlos, Chávez, Claudia, Ramírez, Adriana, Torres, Luis G.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hoboken Wiley Subscription Services, Inc., A Wiley Company 01.03.2004
• Subjects: Mexico
• ISSN: 1051-5658; 1520-6831
• DOI: 10.1002/rem.20006

This article demonstrates the applicability of in situ flushing for the remediation of soil contaminated with petroleum hydrocarbons at a Mexican refinery. The initial average total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) concentration for the demonstration field test was 55,156 g/kg. After six weeks of in situ flushing with alternate periods of water and water/surfactant, an average concentration of 1,407 mg/kg was reached, achieving a total removal efficiency of 98 percent. At the end of the process, no hydrocarbons such as diesel; gasoline; benzene, toluene, ethyl benzene, and xylene (BTEX); or petroleum aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were found. Iron washing achieved a removal efficiency of 70 percent, and for vanadium, the removal efficiency was 94.4 percent. The volume of soil treated was 41.6 m3 (38 m2), equivalent to 69.5 tons of soil. A rough calculation of the process costs estimated a total cost of $104.20/m3 ($114.00/m2). Our research indicates that there are a few studies demonstrating in situ flushing experiences under field conditions where both organic (TPH, diesel, gasoline, PAHs, BTEX) and metal (iron and vanadium) removals are reported. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.