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Dewatering and groundwater control | Stuart Well Services Ltd

Volatile Organic Compound

Soil Vapour Extractor

Volatile Organic Compound is an organic compound that volatilises or vaporises under normal conditions.
Technically this can be described as it participating in a photoreaction.

VOC - Volatile Organic Compound

As the name suggests a Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) is an organic compound that volatilises or vaporises under normal conditions. Technically this can be described as it participating in a photoreaction.

Many carbon based molecules such as aldehydes, ketones and other light hydrocarbons are good examples of VOCs with the most common being methane.

Treatment of soils and groundwater can be undertaken using a range of technologies. However, for soils, the most commonly used in-situ treatments are vapour extraction, air sparging, chemical oxidation and enhanced biodegradation.

Consideration should also be given to Natural Attenuation when setting remediation criteria.

The accurate characterisation of ground conditions will be an important factor in the selection of technique to be used. Ex-situ remediation techniques include biodegradation and windrowing, where the soils are exposed to the passing wind and turned regularly for best results.

Treatments for groundwater include in-situ chemical treatment and biodegradation. Alternatively ex-situ via abstraction wells is a possibility or excavation pumping utilising air stripping. This is a mass transfer process where air and water are run counter current through a packed tower aeration system. This contains a randomly packed media, which, as the water passes through the media, spreads the water into thin films giving a bigger surface area for the air to pass through and remove the VOC contaminant to atmosphere or further treatment.

Alternatively, or in addition to the air stripping, granular activated carbon can be utilised, the carbon has a highly porous structure and the VOCs are removed by the process of physical adsorption.

Accreditations and Associations

ISO-9001 ISO-14001
ISO-22301 ISO-45001
ISO-45001
ISO-45001
ISO-45001
The Temporary Works Forum (TWf)