An innovative in-situ DRAINage system for advanced groundwater reactive TREATment (in-DRAIN-TREAT)

Date published

2020-12-24

Free to read from

Supervisor/s

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

Elsevier

Department

Type

Article

ISSN

0045-6535

Format

Citation

Bortone I, Santonastaso G, Erto A, et al., (2021) An innovative in-situ DRAINage system for advanced groundwater reactive TREATment (in-DRAIN-TREAT). Chemosphere, Volume 270, May 2021, Article number 129412

Abstract

The removal of groundwater contamination is a complex process due to the hydro-geochemical characteristics of the specific site, related maintenance and the possible presence of several types of pollutants, both organic and inorganic. In recent decades, there has been an increasing drive towards more sustainable treatment for contaminated groundwater as opposed to “intensive” treatments, i.e. with high requirements for onsite infrastructure, energy and resource use. In this study, a new remediation technology is proposed, combining the use of advanced drainage systems with adsorption processes, termed “In-situ reactive DRAINage system for groundwater TREATment” (In-DRAIN-TREAT). By taking advantage of the groundwater natural gradient, In-DRAIN-TREAT collects the contaminated groundwater via a drainage system and treats the polluted water directly into an active cell located downstream, avoiding external energy inputs. Preliminary results indicate the applicability and high efficiency of In-DRAIN-TREAT when compared with a permeable reactive barrier (PRB). In-DRAIN-TREAT is applied to remediate a theoretical aquifer with low permeability, contaminated by a 13 m wide hexavalent chromium (CrVI) plume. This is achieved in less than a year, via a drain DN500, 32 m long, a 30 m3 treatment cell filled with activated carbon and no energy consumption. A comparison with permeable barriers also shows a preliminary 63% volume reduction, with a related 10% decrease of remediation costs.

Description

Software Description

Software Language

Github

Keywords

Hexavalent chromium (CrVI), Green remediation, Adsorption processes, Passive groundwater treatment, In-situ remediation

DOI

Rights

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

Relationships

Relationships

Supplements

Funder/s