Three soils polluted by municipal solid waste (MSW) incineration residues and containing various concentrations of Cu, Pb, Sb, Sn and Zn were treated using magnetism, gravity separation (jig and shaking table) and flotation/leaching. The process removed between 18% and 39% of the contaminants present in soil 1, between 31% and 53% of the contaminants present in soil 2 and between 42% and 56% of the contaminants present in soil 3. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons were present only in soil 3, and the process removed 64% of its PAHs total content. Magnetism seemed to be the most efficient technique to remove metals from contaminated soils, followed by gravity separation and finally flotation/leaching. The global efficiency of the process was higher when the initial contaminant concentrations were lower (smaller proportions of MSW incineration residues). The estimated costs of the process, including direct and indirect costs, varied from $82 to $88 per ton of treated soil depending on the proportion of MSW incineration residues mixed with the soil.
In remote communities in the Canadian Arctic, petroleum hydrocarbons supply most household energy needs. Their transportation and use frequently incurs small volume spills in populated areas. The remediation method that is currently used when such spills affect the soil under northern villages’ stilted buildings is expensive and not well suited to local conditions. Here, we review local constraints and environmental considerations and select the best remediation technology for this context: in situ chemical oxidation, involving sodium persulfate (SPS) alkali activated with calcium peroxide (CP). Activated SPS presents a good reactivity and amenability to compounds found in diesel. Its high persistence allows a gradual contaminant degradation, regulating heat release from exothermic reactions associated with the oxidative reactions. CP provides suitable alkali activation, acts itself as an oxidant and provides O2 into the subsurface, which may favour a final smoothing bioremediation step. The SPS properties and the contaminant amenability mean that diesel is removed relatively efficiently, while the subsurface temperature increase is limited, thus preserving the residual permafrost. The solid form of the chemicals offers safe and economic transportation and operation, along with versatility regarding the preparation and distribution of the oxidizing solution into the subsurface. Finally, the oxidation by-products resulting from this method are not considered to be environmentally problematic in the context of the application, and they can be partly confined during the treatment.
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