Design, Construction and Operation of a Funnel and Gate In-Situ Permeable Reactive Barrier for Remediation of Petroleum Hydrocarbons in Groundwater

Abstract

A white spirit spill at a factory site located in a residentialarea of south eastern Australia led to contamination of shallowgroundwater that fed into a nearby river. The contaminatedgroundwater contained toluene, ethyl benzene, and xylene and n-alkanes in the C6–C36 fraction range. A funnel andgate permeable reactive barrier was designed and built, based onpreliminary pilot scale tests using peat as the medium for thegate and the work conducted is presented as a case study. Thetechnical effectiveness of the funnel and gate, over the 10 monthoperating period in which data was collected, indicates that peatrepresents an effective material for use in the gate component offunnel and gate remedial systems. The application of the funneland gate technology represented a substantial saving to the client and was effective in preventing ongoing pollution of thenearby river. The construction of the funnel and gate system also incurred the minimum disturbance to the public access areasbetween the facility and the river.