Formatted Title
Identifying Green and Sustainable Remediation Potentials: Case Study from a Complex Former Industrial Site in Brazil
Background/Objectives
Green and sustainable remediation (GSR) practices have become an integral part of many soil and groundwater remediation projects during the last years. This presentation will present a case study from a remediation project of a large, complex, former industrial site in the São Paulo Metropolitan area where the commitment to maximize sustainability in the project implementation was agreed upon by all parties from the beginning. The site is contaminated with chlorinated volatile organic compounds (CVOC) and several remediation and containment measures are operating. It will be discussed how intentional and continuous screening for optimization potential in the full sustainability spectrum (social, environmental, economic) can contribute to a more sustainable, innovative, cost and time effective project realization.
Approach/Activities
Optimization potential in terms of sustainability exists in all phases of a soil and groundwater remediation project. In the case to be presented, the assessment of characteristic sustainability indicators in the three sustainability dimensions is used to identify those potentials and opportunities. From a consultant perspective major impact in terms of sustainability can be made during feasibility studies and remedy decision-making. Therefore, multicriteria analyses for sustainability assessment and the TAUW CO2 calculation tool for comparison of the CO2 footprint of different remedial technologies were an essential part of that process. Once the remedial planning base was established, several GSR practices were successfully implemented with respect to different sustainability indicators: (1) green energy applications such as a solar thermal system for the activation of persulfate for an ISCO treatment and a photovoltaic system to support the power demand of the local water treatment plant have been installed. The latter simultaneously acts as a protective roof for a chemical storage area; (2) processed water from the treatment plant is partially re-used to prepare new oxidant solutions for the ISCO measures on site. Negotiations are currently underway with the neighboring sports club to use the treated water for irrigation purposes; (3) instead of conventional disposal, excavated soil from a large-hole drilling treatment zone was sent to a solid waste processing company for reusage; (4) greenhouse gas emissions are minimized in the day-to-day project work by collaborating with local companies and leveraging synergy effects wherever possible to reduce mobilization efforts and traffic-related emissions; (5) an automatic oxidant preparation and dosing system for a large ISCO measure is installed to avoid manual handling of the chemicals by field staff. While improving health and safety conditions, the automatic dosing system also enables ISCO operation on weekends and holidays reducing required remediation time, supervision and operational effort and thus costs.
Results/Lessons Learned
The examples above demonstrate that implementing GSR practices not only offer more sustainable solutions, but also more cost-effective and time-saving solutions when implemented properly. In this regard, awareness, continuous striving and screening for optimization in terms of sustainability are the key drivers to find creative and innovative solutions that benefit people, planet and prosperity. The presentation will discuss this and other lessons learned as well as details about the benefits achieved in the case study described above.