Pump and treat in low permeability media

Abstract

Pump and Treat (P&T) is a commonly applied technology whose primary promise for the low permeability environments of interest to these technology reviews is almost certainly containment of the problem. Conventional P&T would be expected to offer little promise of complete restoration in such environments, unless very long time frames (decades or centuries) are considered. A variety of approaches have been proposed to enhance the efficiency of P&T; some appear to offer little promise in low or mixed permeability environments, while others may offer more promise (e.g. hydro- or pneumatic-fracturing, which are described elsewhere in this document, and application of vacuum to the extraction well(s), which is a proprietary technology whose promise is currently difficult to assess objectively). Understanding the potential advantages and means of optimizing these enhancement approaches requires more understanding of the basic processes limiting P&T performance in low or mixed permeability media. These efforts are probably also necessary to understand the advantages and means of optimizing many of the very different remedial technologies that may be applicable to low or mixed permeability environments. Finally, since a reasonably certain capability of P&T is containment (i.e. prevention of further migration of contaminants), P&T may generally be required as a sort of safety net around sites at which the alternative technologies are being tested or applied. 23 refs.