HC-2000 BIOREMEDIATION ACCELERATOR WHITE PAPER

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Introduction

Remtech has developed a proprietary slow-release enhanced bioremediation accelerator and biosurfactant product acceler HC-2000 (HC2), that cleans, disinfects, desorbs, reduces odors and degrades fuels and sheens, oils, transformer oils, lubricants, chlorinated and non-chlorinated solvents. HC-2000 works on soil, ballast, gravel, groundwater, surface water, wastewater, sludges, septic tanks, power substations, cleaning surfaces (clothing, concrete, asphalt, metal), and other matrices. Biosurfactants increase mass transfer of biochemical reaction accelerators to rapidly degrade and clean petroleum based contaminates. Slow release ingredients continue to deliver active ingredients over periods exceeding 1 year.

HC-2000 is a Green Sustainable Technology product.  HC2 restores the environment by accelerating natural systems (heterotrophic bacteria) to degrade petroleum and solvent based contaminants.  HC2 is non-toxic and removes contaminants with minimal economic disruptions to business and generally cost less than other remedial technologies. When treatment is complete, native conditions are restored.

HC-2000 has been used successfully on over 400 cleanup site remediations during the past 20 years.  HC-2000 is designed to work in freshwater applications on refined fuels and solvents not addressed by EPA’s NCP List of saltwater approved crude oil remediation and cleaning products.  HC-2000 is ten times less toxic to aquatic organisms than most of the NCP products.  Remtech's Bioremediation Design Optimization Primer with HC-2000 is presented here. Remtech's Biopile Bioremediation Design Optimization Primer with HC-2000 is presented here.

HC-2000 is particularly cost-effective where: service or business interruptions need to be minimized; access is limited; areas are environmentally sensitive; or sites are geotechnically, hydrologically or structurally sensitive or unstable, and where contamination exists around grounding grids at power plants or substations.

HC-2000 Enhanced Bioremediation Product Multi-Media Applications

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

Ballast, Gravel & Soil Treatment (Railroad Ballast, Power Plants, Substations & Tank Farms) - Gravel, soil and/or ballast can be treated with HC-2000 at railroad mainline and siding tracks, power plants, substations, and in above ground storage tank secondary containment areas. HC-2000 is particularly effective in railroad ballast (that 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.

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

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

Pavement & Surface Cleaning - cleans and removes oils and solvents from asphalt, concrete, metal surfaces, parts, and other surfaces. Accelerates degradation rates of rinsates.

Sediment Treatment - 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 flammable vapor concentrations. Insitu treatment methods minimizes erosion.

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

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

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

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

Tank Cleaning - Removes petroleum hydrocarbons and solvents from above ground and underground storage tanks

HC2000 Technology Selection Factors

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.

Structurally Sensitive/Restrictive Areas - treats soils and groundwater under buildings, around footings & building foundations, utilities, old fragile sewer systems, and grounding & cathodic protection systems.

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.

Security Sensitive Facilities - in access restricted areas, applications can be made quickly with minimal disruptions at airports, military and penal 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, methogenic, and anaerobic zones. Indigenous (insitu) bacteria are the predominant waste degraders in soil, groundwater, surface water, railroad ballast, gravel, and saltwater.

Numerous publications conclude that very little scientific data demonstrates that enhanced degradation (microbial addition or bioaugmentation) works on full-scale cleanups. According to peer reviewed literature, bioaugmentation appears to have little benefit for the treatment of spilled petroleum hydrocarbons in the environment. Microbial addition has not been shown to work better than nutrient addition alone in many field trials (10). Biostimulation has been proven to be a promising tool to accelerate and enhance the natural attenuation process.

Native soil populations capable of degrading petroleum hydrocarbons have been reported to range from 10 to 20% of all soil heterotrophic bacteria. Soil particles containing heterotrophs are found in lower concentrations in groundwater and surface water (2 x 106 cells/ml) than in soil (2 x 107  cells/gm) (11), albeit provide the metabolic and synthetic activity to digest petroleum hydrocarbons. Approximately 67% of all bacteria in groundwater sediment are attached to the silt and clay fraction, though this sediment fraction may account for a small fraction of the total sediment by weight.