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Sediments

Remediation

Innovative

This section contains research and development information on technologies that are generally in the developmental or demonstration phase of their lifecycle.

Bacterial and Benthic Community Response to Inorganic and Organic Sediment Amendments
Arias-Thode, Y.M., G. Rosen, and J. Leather, SPAWAR.
SERDP Project ER-1551, 59 pp, 2010

This project examined the effects on both the macro and micro biological benthic community after amendment additions of materials for remediation of mixed heavy metal contamination: apatite (an inorganic calcium phosphate amendment), chitin, and acetate, as well as geotextile mats containing apatite and the organoclay bentonite. All amendments were examined singly and in combination for their potential ecological impacts and for their capacity to sequester and immobilize metals. In the suggested concentrations, apatite, chitin, and geotextiles containing apatite and organoclay are considered non-toxic to marine invertebrates in marine sediments.

The Cooperative Institute for Coastal and Estuarine Environmental Technology

This institute funds innovative technologies for sediment cleanup and has discussions of ongoing research on the Web page.

Phosphate Based Reactive Barriers for Contaminated Sediment
University of New Hampshire

This University of New Hampshire Research Group Web page discusses the theory of phosphate based barriers for sediments and progress that is being made on their development and deployment.

Case Studies

Federal Remediation Technologies Roundtable Cost and Performance Database

This searchable database contains case studies of both innovative and conventional sediment cleanups using in situ and ex situ technologies.

The Ashumet Pond Reactive Barrier
Massachusetts Military Reservation, Cape Cod.

A geochemical barrier was applied in the groundwater discharge zone of a kettle-hole pond to address the well-defined discharge of a dissolved phosphorus plume. In August 2004, ZVI was mixed into near-shore pond-bottom sediment (3% by weight) to a depth of about 0.6 m, extending 12.2 m offshore along 91.4 m of shoreline in the area of highest observed pond-bottom phosphorus. The sediment mixture was created by excavating the pond-bottom material while the pond was locally dewatered using a cofferdam and large pumps. An excavator mixing bucket blended the pond-bottom sediment and iron filings prior to placement of the mixture on the pond bottom. The ZVI barrier is ~300 ft long, 40 ft wide, and 3 ft thick. Excavation of the dewatered pond bottom provided a unique opportunity to install instrumentation for barrier performance monitoring. Monitoring the performance of a remediation system at this interface required adapting sampling strategies similar to those used in groundwater/surface-water interaction studies. Additional information: McCobb et al. 2009a, McCobb et al. 2009b

Case Study: Sediment Remediation, Bangor Landing, Bangor, Maine
Howatt, K.
Remediation of Contaminated Sediments Workshop, 29-30 April 2010, Westford, MA. Northeast Waste Management Officials' Association. 14 slides, 2010

RMT, Inc., the Bangor project consultant, completed a remediation project in August 2010 to dredge and cap about 1.5 acres of riverbed heavily contaminated with MGP tar. RMT's NAPL Trapping Cap (patent pending) is designed to control tar migration from sediment permanently and predictably by redirecting migrating tar to a controlled accumulation area, where the tar NAPL is trapped and the gas is vented to the atmosphere. The first full-scale application of the NAPL Trapping Cap was installed at the Bangor Landing site. The cap is constructed of a clay layer, a layer that is impermeable to liquids but allows gases through, and a stone layer that resembles the shoreline. U.S. Patent Application 20090110486, dated April 30, 2009, has been filed for the NAPL Trapping Cap. A brief article about this cleanup is available in the April 2010 issue of Civil Engineering. Although MGP tar is a DNAPL, tar globs at this site have been observed to float on the river's surface. The phenomenon is explained in a paper by E.L. McLinn and T.R. Stolzenburg, "Ebullition-Facilitated Transport of Manufactured Gas Plant Tar from Contaminated Sediment," Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 28(11):2298-2306(2009)

Demonstration of the Aquablok® Sediment Capping Technology: Innovative Technology Evaluation Report
EPA 540-R-07-008, 145 pp, 2007

AquaBlok is an innovative, proprietary clay polymer composite. As an alternative to traditional sediment capping materials such as sand, it is designed to swell and form a continuous and highly impermeable isolation barrier between contaminated sediments and the overlying water column. Overall, the demonstration results indicate that the AquaBlok material likely is more stable, more impermeable, and potentially more effective at controlling contaminant flux than traditional sand capping material.

Demonstration Testing and Full-Scale Operation of the Biogenesis^SM Sediment Decontamination Process: Keasbey, New Jersey
BioGenesis Washing BGW, LLC, Springfield, VA. 1,019 pp, 2009

A full-scale demonstration of the BioGenesis^SM Sediment Decontamination Technology was performed on 15,000 cubic yards of dredged material for the New Jersey Department of Transportation, Office of Maritime Resources. The technology is a patented, low-temperature decontamination process for fine-grained sediment that uses impact forces and proprietary washing chemicals to remove organic and inorganic contamination. The resulting material can be used to create high-end topsoil or other construction products. Full-scale cost projections were $51.00 to $59.00 per cubic yard.

Electrochemical Remediation Technologies (ECRTS): In Situ Remediation of Contaminated Marine Sediments. Innovative Technology Evaluation Report
EPA 540-R-04-507, 74 pp, 2007

In the demonstration, a DC/AC current was passed between an electrode pair (anode and cathode) in sediment to mineralize organic contaminants (PAHs, phenols) through an electrochemical geooxidation process or to complex, mobilize, and remove metal contaminants (mercury) deposited at the electrodes through induced complexation. The system did not perform as well as anticipated, due in part to system operational problems, resulting in an early shutdown of the system.

FY02 Final Report on Phytoremediation of Chlorinated Ethenes in Southern Sector Seepline Sediments of the Savannah River Site
R.L. Brigmon, F.M. Saunders, D. Altman, E. Wilde, C.J. Berry, M. Franck, P. McKinsey, S. Burdick, F. Loeffler, S. Harris. WSRC-TR-2002-00557, 171 pp., 2003.

This final report details the operations and results of a 3-year phytoremediation project involving plantings of loblolly pines, hybrid poplars, sterile Vetiver grass, and a wetland system to remediate TCE-contaminated sediment.

Field Testing of Activated Carbon Mixing and In Situ Stabilization of PCBs in Sediment
ESTCP Project ER-0510, 288 pp, 2009

A field-scale project was conducted to demonstrate that activated carbon (AC) sorbent mixed with sediment is a cost-effective, nonremoval, in situ management strategy for reducing risk and the bioavailability of PCBs in offshore sediments at the Hunters Point Shipyard site. The demonstration also compared the effectiveness, in terms of AC application and ease of use, of two available large-scale mixing technologies. Uptake studies showed 50 to 66% reductions in PCB uptakes in AC-amended areas, depending on AC dose. Field-exposed AC retained a strong stabilization capability to reduce aqueous equilibrium PCB concentrations by as much as 95%, depending on AC dose, effective up to at least 18 months. See also the ESTCP Cost and Performance Report.

Innovative In-Situ Remediation of Contaminated Sediments for Simultaneous Control of Contamination and Erosion
Knox, A.S., D.D. Reible, M.H. Paller, and I.G. Petrisor.
WSRC-RP-2007-00666, 103 pp, 2007

This report describes an investigation of the use of combinations of sequestering agents to develop in situ active sediment caps that stabilize mixtures of contaminants and act as a barrier to mechanical disturbance under a broad range of environmental conditions. The investigators determined the most effective active cap materials, cap composition, and the effects of active components on metal bioavilability, retention, and toxicity.

Mass Balance, Beneficial Use Products, and Cost Comparisons of Four Sediment Treatment Technologies near Commercialization
Estes, T.J., V.S. Magar, D.E. Averett, N.E. Soler, T.E. Myers, E.J. Glisch, and D.A. Acevedo.
ERDC/EL TR-11-1, 286 pp, 2011

This report covers the technical status of 4 sediment treatment technologies: JCI/Upcycle rotary kiln thermal treatment/light-weight aggregate (LWA); Cement-Lock® technology/cement; Minergy® glass furnace technology/glass aggregate; and BioGenesis^SM sediment washing process/manufactured soil. The report describes the process efficiency in terms of mass balance, gives pre- and post-treatment processing requirements, and estimates full-scale implementation costs at a scale compatible with a dredging operation.

Predicting and Validating the Field Performance of Novel Sorbent-Amended Sediment Caps
Lowry, G.V., J.L. Fairey, D.A. Dzombak, and J.M. VanBriesen.
Cooperative Institute for Coastal and Estuarine Environmental Technology, 36 pp, 2009

This paper contains an evaluation of the performance of thin-layer (1.25 cm) activated carbon (AC)-amended sand sediment caps as a tool for in situ remediation of PCB-contaminated sediments. The investigators developed the fundamental understanding of the physicochemical processes affecting the transport of PCBs through the AC layer and measured isotherms parameters for nine PCBs onto AC under sediment conditions. Addition of a thin layer of AC to a sand cap significantly improves the ability of the cap to retard transport of PCBs from the underlying sediment to the overlying benthic community and water column. The AC layer is added to the sediment cap using a reactive core mat, consisting of a geotextile filled with AC. These mats are commercially available from companies identified in the report.

Reactive Capping Mat Development and Evaluation for Sequestering Contaminants in Sediment
Hawkins, A.L., G.A. Tracey, J.J. Swanko, K.H. Gardner, and J.S. Melton.
TR-2366-ENV, SERDP Project ER-1493, 163 pp, 2011

In April 2008, a prototype reactive geotextile mat system was deployed in Cottonwood Bay in Grand Prairie, Texas, in four 25 ft x 25 ft test arrangements (bare single-layer geotextile, single-layer geotextile with sand cap, bare double-layer geotextile, sand cap only) and an undisturbed control. Results indicated that the selected implementation method, including mat with sand cover, is recommended as an effective technology to sequester contaminants in sediments while preventing uplift due to gas accumulation. Additional information: Appendices

Sediment Remediation Through Activated Carbon Amendment: Long-Term Monitoring of a Field Pilot in Trondheim Harbour
Cornelissen, G., J. Gunnarsson, G. Samuelsson, and U. Ghosh.
Norwegian Research Council, Project 185032, NGI report no. 20081057-1, 20 pp, 2011

Activated carbon (AC) amendment was applied as a novel remediation technique in a pilot project in Trondheim Harbour in 2008. The project consisted of thin-layer in situ capping with AC implemented using three different methods: AC only, AC covered by a thin layer of sand, and AC mixed with clay. This report describes the establishment of the novel pilot testing fields and their long-term follow-up and monitoring.

Strategic Selection of an Optimal Sorbent Mixture for In-Situ Remediation of Heavy Metal Contaminated Sediments: Framework and Case Study
Chiang, Y.W., R.M. Santos, K. Ghyselbrecht, V. Cappuyns, J.A. Martens, R. Swennen, T. Van Gerven, and B. Meesschaert.
Journal of Environmental Management 105:1-11(2012)

This paper outlines a strategic framework designed to address the development of an in situ sediment remediation solution systematically through assessment, feasibility, and performance studies. The decision-making tools and the experimental procedures needed to identify optimum sorbent mixtures are detailed, with emphasis on the utilization and combination of commercially available and waste-derived sorbents. An application of the proposed framework is illustrated in a case study of a contaminated sediment site in Northern Belgium with high levels of As, Cd, Pb, and Zn originating from historical non-ferrous smelting. Longer abstract

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