Coupled Hydrogeochemical Approach and Sustainable Technologies for the Remediation of a Chlorinated Solvent Plume in an Urban Area

• Published in: Sustainability 2022-08, Vol.14 (16), p.10317
• Main Authors: Ciampi, Paolo, Esposito, Carlo, Bartsch, Ernst, Alesi, Eduard J, Nielsen, Christian, Ledda, Laura, Lorini, Laura, Petrangeli Papini, Marco
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Air injection; Air sparging; Aquifers; Big Data; Biodegradation; Biological activity; Chemical reduction; Contaminants; Contamination; Dechlorination; Decision making; Decontamination; Environmental aspects; Environmental remediation; Geochemistry; Groundwater; Groundwater pollution; Hydraulics; Hydrogeochemistry; Hydrogeology; Hydrology; Investigations; Methods; Metropolitan areas; Permeability; Pollutants; Pollution; Pollution monitoring; Reagents; Remediation; Solvents; Sustainability; Sustainable development; Tetrachloroethylene; Urban areas; VOCs; Volatile organic compounds; Water, Underground
• ISSN: 2071-1050; 2071-1050
• DOI: 10.3390/su141610317

The presence of chlorinated solvents polluting groundwater in urbanized areas poses a significant environmental issue. This paper details a thoughtful approach to remediate a tetrachloroethylene (PCE) plume in a district that is characterized by a complex hydrological context with a limited accessibility. Through a geodatabase-driven and coupled hydrogeochemical approach, two distinct remediation technologies were chosen for the management of a contaminant plume. On one hand, coaxial groundwater circulation (CGC) wells coupled with air sparging (AS) aspire to promote the in-situ transfer of PCE from the contaminated matrices into a gaseous stream that is then treated above ground. On the other hand, reagent injection has the goal of enhancing chemical reduction combined with in situ adsorption, creating contaminant adsorbent zones, and stimulating dechlorinating biological activity. The development of an integrated conceptual site model (CSM) harmonizing geological, hydrochemical, and membrane interface probe (MIP) data captures site-specific hydrogeochemical peculiarities to support decision-making. The hydrochemical monitoring reveals contamination dynamics and decontamination mechanisms in response to treatment, quantifying the performance of the adopted strategies and investigating possible rebound effects. The estimation of masses extracted by the CGC-AS system validates the effectiveness of a new and sustainable technique to abate chlorinated solvents in groundwater.