Soil and groundwater remediation proposal for hydrocarbons in a tropical aquifer

Abstract

This paper deals with a proposal for the remediation of soils and groundwater contaminated with hydrocarbons in a tropical aquifer, due to leaks from underground tanks in a gas station in Venezuela. The hydrocarbon measured values such as TPHs (Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons) and BTEX (Benzene, Toluene, Ethylbenzene, Xylenes) in soils and groundwater exceeded the international standards. The remediation proposal was designed using kinetic models from the modified Monod equation for two coupled bioreactors, used as a design variable for the Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD). For soil treatment, the sequence was formed by a Soil-Slurry Sequencing Batch Reactor (SS-SBR) and an Upflow Anaerobic Filter separately in three phases (UAF-3SS), operating for 80% and 99% of COD removal, respectively. For groundwater treatment, it was set that the SBR-UAF-3SS sequence performs a COD removal of 60% and 99%, respectively.