Formatted Title

Can Thermal Soil Remediation be Sustainable? A Comparison of CO_{2 eq.} Emissions on Several Thermal Remediation Case Studies in Europe Using Both ERH and TCH

Background/Objectives

With growing awareness and urgency to shift towards a net-zero emission, sustainability has become far more than just a sales pitch. Companies increasingly use advertorial messages regarding environmental, ecological and sustainable development to persuade clients into making a certain product or service choice. Sustainability claims have become a powerful instrument of marketing and are an important criteria in product and technology selection for both consultants and regulatory agency stakeholders. Over the past years, the environmental footprint of any soil remediation technology is increasingly taken into consideration during site evaluations yet the supporting data are not always known or available to other parties. Clear, relevant, reliable and verifiable information regarding the environmental impact of any technology is a must to promote true sustainability.

Approach/Activities

The aim of this study is to look deeper to these sustainability claims and presents several case studies of projects performed throughout Europe that are used to estimate the CO_{2 eq.} emission and ecological footprint of thermal remediations using both electrical resistive heating (ERH) and thermal conductive heating (TCH) technologies. Using freely accessible calculation tools the total emission is estimated and compared to other available conventional remediation alternatives like excavation.

Results/Lessons Learned

An estimate is made regarding CO_{2 eq.} emissions and an identification of the different aspects that generate the largest emissions during the entire process. It concludes with a deeper look at the decisive factors that contribute to CO_{2 eq.} emissions, the overall footprint of thermal soil remediation and suggestions where contractors can take actions to reduce the ecological footprint.