Multi Phase Extraction PDF Download

EPA has estimated that more than 200,000 sites remain to be remediated in the United States, including Superfund, RCRA Corrective Action, Underground Storage Tank, Department of Defense (DoD), Department of Energy (DOE), civilian federal agency, and state sites. About 70 percent of Superfund, RCRA, DoD, and DOE sites have contaminated soil or groundwater, or both (EPA, 1997a). Volatile organic compounds (VOCs), including chlorinated solvents, are a frequently-occurring type of contaminant at these sites. This report provides an overview of the state-of-the-practice for multi-phase extraction (MPE). MPE involves simultaneous extraction of soil vapor and groundwater to remediate both types of contaminated media. MPE has seen an increase in use at Superfund and other sites for cleanup of soil and groundwater impacted with halogenated VOCs, and also has been used frequently for cleanup of petroleum-hydrocarbon sites. This report focuses primarily on the applicability and use of MPE at sites with halogenated VOCs. Section 2 of this report provides a description of MPE technology, including the various configurations used for this technology. Section 3 describes the types of site conditions to which MPE would be applicable, and discusses the advantages and disadvantages of using MPE at these types of sites. Section 4 summarizes information about attributes of MPE vendors and examples of sites where these vendors have applied their technologies. Information about these vendors was obtained from EPA REACH IT, an extensive database of information about characterization and treatment technologies.