Use of sonication for in-well softening of semivolatile organic compounds. 1997 annual progress report

'This project investigates the in-situ degradation of semivolatile organic compounds (SVOCs) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) using in-well sonication, in-well vapor stripping, and bioremediation. Pretreating groundwaters with sonication techniques in-situ would form VOCs that can be effectively removed by in-well vapor stripping and bioremediation. The mechanistic studies focus on the coupling of megasonics and ultrasonics to soften (i.e., partially degrade) the SVOCs; oxidative reaction mechanism studies; surface corrosion studies (on the reactor walls/well); enhancement due to addition of oxidants, quantification of the hydroxyl radical formation; identification/quantification of degradation products; volatility/degradability of the treated waters; development of a computer simulation model to describe combined in-well sonication/in-well vapor stripping/bioremediation; systems analysis/economic analysis; large laboratory-scale experiment verification; and field demonstration of the integrated technology. Benefits of this approach include: (1) Remediation is performed in-situ; (2) The treatment systems complement each other; their combination can drastically reduce or remove SVOCs and VOCs; (3) Ability to convert hard-to-degrade organics into more volatile organic compounds; (4) Ability to remove residual VOCs and softened SVOCs through the combined action of in-well vapor stripping and biodegradation; (5) Does not require handling or disposing of water at the ground surface; and (6) Cost-effective and improved efficiency, resulting in shortened clean-up times to remediate a site.