In Situ Remediation of a TCE-Contaminated Aquifer Using a Short Rotation Woody Crop Groundwater Treatment System

摘要

A field-scale demonstration project was conducted to evaluate the capability of Eastern cottonwood trees (Populus deltoides) to intercept and treat groundwater contaminated with trichloroethylene (TCE) and cis-1,2- dichloroethene (cDCE) at the Carswell Golf Course (CGC), within the Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base (NAS-JRB) Fort Worth, Texas (formerly Carswell Air Force Base). Eastern cottonwood trees are classified as a short rotation woody crop (SRWC) because they are fast-growing, easy to regenerate, and a commercially viable source of pulp for paper products. Specifically, the study was undertaken to determine the potential for a short rotation woody crop groundwater treatment (SRWCGT) system to control hydraulically the migration of a contaminated groundwater plume and to biologically enhance the subsurface environment to optimize in situ reductive dechlorination of the detected chlorinated ethenes (TCE and cDCE). Contrary to many conventional treatment processes, a SRWCGT system does not require the addition of chemical or biological enhancements. The SRWCGT system at the CGC consists of two 15 x 75 meter (m) plantations, one planted with 1-year old stem cuttings (whips) and the other planted with 1-year old seedlings (caliper trees).