Related theme: HSE Compliance & Business Continuity
Period: 2016 – ongoing
Client: DOW
TAUW contact:
Dirk Paulus
Dow is a large multinational company with many locations around the world. It had acquired a storage and production facility for solvents with historical pollution in the Antwerp harbour area. National environmental legislation required Dow to remediate the soil and groundwater of this site that had become contaminated after years of ongoing industrial activity.
The client wanted a sustainable remediation solution that would not affect the site’s operational activities. Therefore a containment measure was designed and implemented at the downstream border of the site to mitigate the distribution risk of the impacted groundwater.
The conventional remediation solution would be to install a classic ‘pump and treat’ system which is an energy intensive and costly method. A sustainable alternative method was designed and installed based upon the enhancement of the aerobic biodegradation of contaminants. This method is called “the aerobic bio-washing machine”. The bio-washing machine was used as a bio-barrier.
The bio-washing machine consists of downstream groundwater extraction filters and upstream groundwater injection filters, with biosparging filters in the middle. The bio-barrier stretches across a length of 350m downstream from the facility. The bio-washing machine is a sustainable remediation method consuming little energy.
This project is a fine example of a sustainable innovative remediation technique. The bio-barrier solution allows us to remove existing and future contamination from the groundwater without interrupting ongoing business operations. We were also able to mitigate the risk of water contamination: groundwater contamination levels have dropped drastically and the downstream surface waters remain protected from new incoming contaminations.
Dow and TAUW share a commitment to sustainable business practices and are long-term partners.
It's not just a daily job, it's... a living ambition
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