SARLUX REFINERY (SARDINIA)

“Ex situ” treatment of soils contaminated with heavy and weathered hydrocarbons using dynamic biopiles.

To test the feasibility of biological treatment of heavy and weathered hydrocarbon-contaminated soil using dynamic biopiles, a pilot test was carried out in a authorized facility to test different types of treatment (application of green or fungal composted soil improver, application of surfactant products, and application of a biological strategy integrated with an oxidative pretreatment) in order to degrade even the most recalcitrant hydrocarbon fraction.

PROBLEM

Soils with recalcitrant and weathered contamination

The treated soil, hailing from a refinery, represents a contaminated matrix recalcitrant to biological remediation since compositional fingerprint analysis showed the presence of a heavy hydrocarbon fraction C26÷C40 with a high degree of weathering.

SOLUTION

Pilot test with dynamic biopiles

A pilot test with dynamic biopiles was performed at the facility Sistemi Ambientali S.r.l. (Calcinate, BG). In a first step, the pilot test involved setting up 2 biopiles of approx. 18 mc to test separately the addition of a green composted soil improver and a fungal soil improver. To increase the bioavailability of the more recalcitrant fraction, a surfactant product was added. In the second step of the test, the efficacy of an oxidative treatment with persulfate, applied at the pretreatment or finishing stage, was tested.

OBJECTIVES ACHIEVED

The feasibility from both a management (facility) and operational (process) point of view was verified on the application of biological treatments for the remediation of soils hailing from the refinery, concluding that dynamic biopile technology can be used “on site” for the remediation of those soils.

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