Biostimulation & BioSurfactant Applications of HC-2000 on Environmental Cleanups

HC-2000 Multi-Media Applications

HC-2000 is a Remtech proprietary biostimulation accelerator/biosurfactant that cleans, desorbs, and degrades fuels, oils, lubricants, and chlorinated and non-chlorinated solvents. HC-2000 is particularly cost-effective where: service or business interruptions are costly, access is limited, areas are environmentally sensitive, and for sites that are geotechnically, hydrologically or structurally sensitive or unstable.

HC-2000 Multi-Media Applications are Summarized Below:

Pavement & Surface Cleaning - cleans asphalt, concrete, metal surfaces, and parts cleaning. Accelerates degradation rates of rinseates.

Soil - treats surface soil passively (via topical or gravity feed systems for soil depths up to 3 to 5 ft) or actively (through biovent/injection, & multiphase extraction systems for depths exceeding 5 ft).

Sediment - desorbs flammable/combustible fuels and solvents from sediment in sewers, retention ponds, stream/river beds, and storage tanks. Flushing systems with HC-2000 accelerates solvent removal/desorption, degradation, and lowers vapor concentrations below flammable limits. Insitu treatment methods minimizes erosion.

Ballast & Gravel - Railroad Ballast, Gravel at Power Substations & Tank Farms - Gravel and/or ballast can be treated with HC-2000 at railroad mainline and siding tracks, power substations, and in above ground storage tank secondary containment areas. HC-2000 is particularly effective in railroad ballast (functions like a trickling filter with elevated baseline heterotrophic bacteria plate counts). In place treatment minimizes rail or power service interruptions and disturbance of grounding and cathodic protection systems at power substations and tank farms.

Solids & Sludge Breakup - breaks up sludge in digesters, sludge pits, septic tanks, and solids buildup in ASTs and USTs.

Forrest Canopy, Vegetation, & Wildlife - elutriates fuels and solvents from leaves, foliage, sod, etc. to minimize interference with photosynthesis and minimizes loss of foliage. Rehabilitate flora & fauna from oil exposures. Accelerates degradation of wash residues.

Surface Water - removes sheens by lowering surface tension and allowing sheens to come in contact with particulate born bacteria for degradation. Removes light sheens and odors almost immediately and also desorbs fuel from banks, leaves, limbs, and other organic matter. Degrades solution phase contaminates in aerobic, facultative, and anaerobic environments.

Groundwater - treats groundwater insitu passively (infiltration galleries, biofences) or actively (reactor trenches, and sparge wells).

Wastewater- accelerates biological degradation in oil/water separators, truck and car washes, parts washing, septic tank systems, and conventional biological wastewater treatment systems.

Odor Control - HC-2000 kills pathogenic bacteria, reduces vapor pressure of volatile compounds, and activates bacterial odor degrading microorganisms.

Technology Selection Factors

Structurally Sensitive Areas - treats soils and groundwater under buildings,around footings & building foundations without disturbing structures.

Geotechnically Unstable or Erosion Sensitive Areas - treats drainage ditches, stream beds, river banks, and highway right-of-ways while minimizing erosion and adverse environmental impacts.

Environmentally Sensitive Areas - food quality natural components in HC-2000 accelerate bioremediation in environmentally fragile areas such as wetlands, marshes, beaches, national parks, dunes, nature preserves, and forests without adverse environmental impacts on flora or fauna. HC-2000 synergistically accelerates bioremediation in the rhyosphere (root zone), and organically enriched and microbial diverse environments.

Critical Utilities - insitu treatment prevents damage to old water mains, fiber optics cables, telecommunication, and other underground utilities without service interruptions.

Security Sensitive Facilities - in access restricted areas, applications can be made quickly and with minimal disruptions at airports and military installations.

How Does HC-2000 Work?

Native heterotrophs are ubiquitous in the environment and are found in soil, water, groundwater, and waste in aerobic, facultative, and anaerobic zones. Heterotrophs have been demonstrated to be effective degraders of a variety of hazardous and non-hazardous wastes including petroleum hydrocarbons, chlorinated solvents, and other pollutants. A myriad of degradation data was generated in the 1980s during research on land farming of hazardous wastes (1). Ross McKinney in his book Microbiology for Sanitary Engineers states the best source of micro-organisms is soil. The soil can furnish all the microorganisms ever needed in waste disposal. My advice to all sanitary bacteriologists who seek a special culture is to look under their feet; the supply is inexhaustible.(2) HC-2000 targets native heterotrophs that control the bioremediation process.

Heterotrophic degradation is limited by enzymes, co-factors, nutrients, electron donors, biosurfactants, and the proper environmental conditions that accelerate biochemical reactions. Natural attenuation can take years and generally reaches asymptotic concentrations due to insufficient nutrients or inadequate environmental conditions. HC-2000 supplies the limiting factors outlined above and reduces degradation times to months or longer periods for more resilient compounds.

HC-2000 is an aerobically fermented product that is readily assimilated and eliminates lag reaction periods. HC-2000 can be applied under various environ-mental conditions (aerobic, facultative, anaerobic, etc.) expanding the number of contaminants that can be treated.

Fate of Degradation Products in the Environment

HC-2000 desorbs and degrades contaminants. Enhanced bioremediation projects require adequate reaction zones and retention periods to complete degradation. Offsite migration can be minimized by removing as much of the mobile free product phase or grossly contaminated matrix as as possible at the beginning of the project and monitoring downgradient receptors to determine if additional downgradient enzyme injection points and/or containment/leachate recovery systems are required.

On soil or ballast applications, the desorption properties of HC-2000 accelerates

the removal of mobile phase constituents and brings residual contaminates in

contact with an increased number of soil bound degraders.

On water applications, the mobile phase is removed first by conventional methods. Non-recoverable sheens are removed by temporarily lowering surface tension (not emulsified) and bringing contaminants in contact with particulate born degraders. Oil skimmers, oil/water separators, and other free product recovery devices are not adversely impacted by HC-2000.

Examples of leachate containment systems that may be used to provide adequate treatment periods include: filtration/adsorption dams, containment booms, inter-ceptor trenches, cut-off walls, perimeter monitoring wells, downgradient air curtains, or groundwater depression systems.

Overcoming Mass Transfer Challenges

Insitu treatment is also limited by mass transfer. Treatment technologies must come in contact or mix with contaminants to be effective. Heterotrophic bacteria are already dispersed and acclimated to contaminates around them.

The ability to deliver treatment agents to heterogeneous media such as soils and groundwater three dimensionally is required to achieve uniform site treatment.

HC-2000 supplies wetting agents and biosurfactants that improve mass transfer.

Bound or adsorbed contaminants in soil pores (accounts for up to 60% of the total contamination) restricts bioavailability. Biosurfactants in HC-2000 desorbs

contaminates moving them towards microbial degraders. This same desorption

mechanism is a major factor that facilitates cleaning surfaces.

Passive insitu technologies rely on advection (bulk groundwater flow) and disper-sion to disseminate reactants. Aggressive pulsed (air and/or reagent) injection enhances mixing and mass transport and generally achieves more rapid and uniform results. HC-2000 enhances both passive and aggressive delivery methods.

HC-2000 Delivery Systems

For bioremedation or cleaning, a HC-2000 and water mixture may be applied by

a diaphragm, roller, or centrifugal pump with a fire nozzle. Trace quantities of

pulp may clog finer nozzles and piston pumps (especially pressure washers).

HC-2000 may be injected past pressure washer pumps and applied with chemical feed nozzles followed up with a high pressure water (cold or hot - <120 oF) chase to drive the enzyme into the media. Best results are achieved when surface solid media (soils, gravel, ballast, etc.) are mixed (tilled) or agitated with the initial application and several times during the treatment period. Agitation of surfaces (manual or power brooms, pressure or hot water washers), followed by a reaction period (approximately 5 to 20 minutes) and water rinse enhances surface cleaning effectiveness.

For subsurface soil applications, HC-2000 may be applied through infiltration

galleries, horizontal or vertical biovent systems or reaction trenches/ fences.

HC-2000 may be applied as foam to enhance movement through and contact

with soil. Soil moisture should be maintained at 70% of field holding capacity

(or 20% moisture).

Bulk Diesel Removed prior to HC-2000 Treatment

HC-2000 Removes Sheens, Treats Surfacewater & Fuel Contaminated Sediment

Motor Oil Contaminated Ballast

Ballast Staining & Oil Concentrations Reduced by Over 70% after 4 months of HC-2000 Treatment

Slurry Biostimulation Reactor with Pure Diesel Fuel @ Time = 2 Days

TPH Degraded to less than

5 mg/l in 74 days

HC-2000 Desorbs & Degrades Lube Oil

in Fouled Railroad Ballast

HC-2000 Degrades Fuel & Removes Diesel Stains & Odors in Railroad Ballast

JP-8 from F-18's Jettisoned Axillary Fuel Tanks Reduced by over 98%

in 90 days at Military Base

Transformer Oil Removed from Containment Structure at Power Plant

HC-2000/BioSparge Injection Well Head

For subsurface groundwater applications, HC-2000 may be applied through horizontal or vertical biosparge systems or reaction trenches/fences. HC-2000 may be injected as a liquid or foam to increase contact with pollutants.

For insitu soil and groundwater applications, reaction zones are generally defined by areas where 10% of the applied air pressure is observed at response points. Radius of influence or reaction zone tests should be performed to determine injection grid layouts. Application of HC-2000 during high water table conditions will avoid contamination desorption from the smear zone.

Suggested Monitoring & Dosage Rates

Optimal degradation conditions are present when total heterotrophic plate concentrations are elevated and maintained during the treatment period. Elevated plate counts indicate that sufficient nutrients, moisture, and environmental conditions are present. Secondary parameters that may be monitored include respiration by-products, moisture, dissolved oxygen, pH, and redox potential. Monitoring the reduction of the contaminant(s) of concern determines when treatment is complete and/or when natural attenuation can complete the degradation process.

Dosage rates are site and contaminate(s) specific. Dosage rules of thumb range from three (3) to ten (10) cubic yards of contaminated media (soil, groundwater, railroad ballast, etc.) per gallon of concentrate over a five-week treatment period. Concentrate dilution ratios of one part of HC-2000 to sixteen parts of water is recommended for soil or ballast applications.

Groundwater dosage rates vary from 1:16 to 1:30 (HC-2000 to water mixture). Always add HC-2000 concentrate to water to avoid excessive foaming. For example, to treat 10 cubic yards of contaminated media (assuming one gallon of concentrate treats 10 cy), weekly dosages would be 0.2 gallons in 3.2 gallons of water. Assuming a 16-week treatment period, then 16 x 0.2 gallons or 8 gallons of concentrate would be required.

For surface cleaning applications a 1:5 to 1:10 ratio may be used. For pressure and/or hot pressure washers chemical feed ratios of 1:2 to 1:5 are recommended.

Regulatory Approvals

Regulatory authorities frequently favor (and quickly approve) the acceleration of natural degradation processes as apposed to addition of foreign microbes or toxic materials into the environment. Stimulating natural biochemical processes reduces the possibility toxic by-product formation and allows multiple species (operating under a variety of environmental conditions) to reduce contaminates to minimum levels. When treatment is complete, native conditions are restored.

HC-2000 has been approved by Georgia, Florida, and Illinois for the treatment of soil and groundwater on a case-by-case basis. No specific approval is required for soil applications in Georgia. Georgia frequently only requires three (applications of HC-2000 to soil without performance sampling to complete a cleanup (due to the large number of successfully completed cleanups where performance sampling has been required).

Federal EPA On-Scene Coordinators and National Park Service officials have approved HC-2000 on a case-by-case basis for projects in National Parks, navigatable water ways, lakes, wetlands, and soil and groundwater environments.

Summary and HC-2000 Benefits

Other remedial technologies may leave residual contaminants that require additional treatment. These technologies include; pump and treat, soil venting and air sparging, and total fluids extraction. Why not start with a technology that can finish the job?

Site remediation costs with HC-2000 range from $15 to $225/cy of contaminated media. Costs are site specific and are affected by the type of contamination, local geology, project size, and contaminant location. HC-2000 performs best in formations where adequate communication and mass transfer can be established.

HC-2000 is non-toxic, non-allergenic, and contains food quality ingredients. Accelerating the natural degradation process (Biostimulation) with HC-2000 is generally received favorably by regulatory authorities and the general public, and heterotrophs are already acclimated and distributed in the environment. All that is required is to deliver HC-2000 to the degraders.

HC-2000 goes right to work by energizing native heterotrophs. Chemical oxidization with permanganate, peroxide, and ozone frequently oxidize materials other than target contaminants, i.e., a significant mass of reagents are wasted. Chemical oxidization may form toxic by-products that are not normally associated with cometabolic native biochemical reactions.

Oxygen and hydrogen release compounds generally rely on passive slow release mechanisms and depend on advection and dispersion to transport the reagent to the contaminant. Limiting nutrient deficiencies are not addressed. Adsorbed and soil pore bound contaminates are only addressed by sufficient concentration gradients to draw reactants to contaminants. HC-2000 provides contaminant desorption with biosurfactants that is generally more effective than concentration gradients. Aggressive pulsed reagent injection (used with HC- 2000) generally provides better mass transfer and mixing.

HC-2000 is easily assimilated by native bacteria without a lag time. Commercial fertilizers and surfactants may initially inhibit microbial degradation. Nutrient and carbon sources such as molasses, sugars, and vegetable oil need to be broken down further prior to assimilation by microbes. Organic nitrogen and proteins (contained in HC-2000) are a preferred source of nitrogen over nitrates, ammonia, and other compounds containing nitrogen.

References

1. 1.Hazardous Waste Land Treatment, Environmental Protection Agency, Solid Waste & Hazardous Waste Research Division, Cincinnati, Ohio, April,1983.
   

2. 2.McKinney, Ross, Microbiology for Sanitary Engineers, McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc.,1962.
   

3. 3.Suthersan, Suthan S., Natural and Enhanced Remediation Systems, Lewis Publishers, 2002.
   

4. 4.Suthersan, Suthan S., Remediation Engineering, CRC net Base,1999.
   

5. 5.Ryckman, Mark D., et. al., Enzyme helps Remediate at Lightning Speed, Soil and Groundwater Cleanup Magazine, February - March 1997.
   

6. 6.Ryckman, Mark D., et.al., Cut Project Life Cycle Costs, Soil and Groundwater Cleanup Magazine, January - February 1996.
   

7. 7.Enhanced Bioremediation with HC-2000, Remtech Engineers News Letter, Vol. 6, December, 2002.
   

8. 8.HC-2000 Multi-Media Applications, Remtech Engineers News Letter, Vol. 9., November, 2004
   

9. 9.Remtech Engineers, Confidential Client Project Report Files,1997- 2005.

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