Bioremediating Soil Piles As High As Six Feet: The "Staged Pile" Technique
Oettco Products Corp., 3296 Montara Drive, Bonita Springs, FL 33923, USA 941-498-0771
Simple land farming techniques and materials can be used to treat soil piles
as high as six feet if special aeration measures are taken.
This is particularly useful in situations where insufficient flat ground
space is available to spread out soil in a low 18" pile.
Here's how the staged pile technique works for 500 cubic yards of hydrocarbon-contaminated
soil:
The 500 cubic yard soil pile will have a base that measures 30 feet by 30
feet. A layer of 1/2-inch PVC pipe with 1/8-inch perforations is laid out on
the bottom of the pile. The PVC pipes should run the entire length of the pile
and be placed on three foot centers.
The soil should be layered in 12-inch high lifts, each thoroughly inoculated
with the bioremediation solution as it is laid down.
When the height of the pile reaches three feet, a second layer of perforated
PVC pipes should be laid down on three foot centers.
Additional 12-inch lifts of soil can be added until a total pile height of
six feet is reached.
All aeration pipes should be supplied with air by a 1.5- to 2-horse power
rotary vane blower.
30 days after the pile's initial inoculation with the microbe, nutrients,
bilogical catalyst and water solution, it should be inoculated again with an
equal amount of solution comprises of nutrients, biological catalyst and water.
All solution should be sprayed around its exterior, with emphasis on higher
levels to ensure that the liquid will seep down through the entire pile.
60 days after the pile's initial inoculation, a final application of nutrients,
biological catalyst and water should be applied.