This document is available in the Adobe Acrobat PDF Format. This process applies surfactants and additives to soil washing and waste water treatment to make organic and metal contaminants soluble. It can be applied to soil, sludges, sediments, slurries, groundwater, surface water, industrial effluents, and in situ soil flushing. The soil is excavated, washed, and rinsed to produce clean soil. Desorption simultaneously regenerates surfactants for reuse.
Liquid treatment consists of phase separation, ultrafiltration, and air flotation.
In June 1990, treatability studies were conducted on soils with high clay content, industrial oily sludges, industrial wastewater effluents, and contaminated groundwater. In situ soil flushing tests have shown a 20-fold enhancement of contaminant removal rates.