Biowall Performance Evaluation at Multiple U.S. Air Force Installations (Abstract)

摘要

Multiple USAF installations have demonstrated the benefits of using permeable mulch biowalls to enhance bioremediation of chlorinated solvents in groundwater since the first biowall was installed at Offutt AFB, NE, in 2000. The objective of each biowall demonstration was to contain and attenuate a shallow groundwater plume contaminated with trichloroethene (TCE) and cis-1,2-dichloroethene (cis-DCE), in order to prevent surface water discharge or off-base migration. The biowall substrate is a mixture of shredded plant material (e.g., tree mulch, compost varieties) and sand/gravel, installed with a unique, continuous, excavation/backfilling trenching process designed specifically for these biowall systems. The mulch and compost substrates are intended to be used as solid-phase, long-term carbon sources to stimulate reductive dechlorination of chlorin- ated compounds over a period of 5 to 10 years or more.