Soil Venting—the injection of air or other gaseous oxidizers into the soil or groundwater at fairly low rates—can dramatically increase biological activity associated with the natural degradation of organic compounds.

This procedure, often called soil venting in the vadose zone or biosparging in the saturated zone, is an efficient process that is typically more economical than SVE or conventional air sparging. Since flow rates are low, blowers and associated operating costs are less, and there is no need to treat collected contaminant-laden soil gas that has been stripped (like in air sparging).

Injection of oxygen or ozone at low flow rates is also commonly used for chemical oxidation, and even propane has been injected to provide a carbon source for biological treatment. All of these treatment methods work by treating the contaminants in situ, rather than stripping them out for removal and ex situ treatment.

This methodology is rapidly gaining favor for sites where risk-based assessments have determined that there is little threat of exposure via normal pathways, but that SOME remediation is needed. It is also useful to create a barrier against migration of contaminants off-site—a horizontal well installed across a migrating contaminant plume effectively treats all of the water that crosses it, eliminating the need for expensive and ineffective pump-and-treat systems.

Contact Ellingson-DTD and discover the advantages of a horizontal soil venting system for your remediation site.