ESTCP Project #1011, Rhizosphere
Final Report
is occurring, but at present, the need for statistically valid changes in degradation rates, based on
chemical concentration data, are needed.
Table 2 shows performance criteria.
Table 2. Performance criteria.
Performance
Description
Primary or
Criteria
Secondary
Contaminant
Petroleum compounds in surface soils
Primary
Reduction
Contaminant
The technology does not affect the mobility of the contaminants.
Secondary
Mobility
Hazardous
No hazardous materials will remain.
Secondary
Materials
Process
The only waste generated was from sampling equipment used in the initial
Secondary
Waste
sampling event. These wastes were collected, analyzed, and disposed of
according to regulations. Subsequent sampling did not generate wastes.
Factors
Primary
Temperature: Abnormally low temperatures or a shorter than normal
Affecting
growing season, will slow the microbial activity and hence the degradation
Technology
rate.
Performance
root penetration, and soil microbial activity.
Not applicable; there is no equipment involved
Secondary
Ease of Use
No special skills and training are needed beyond ability to operate simple
Secondary
equipment or devices used in seeding and fertilizing soil, and the ability to
collect valid monitoring samples following designated procedures. There is
no required number of technicians; the number of people depends on the
size of the site and the time available to vegetate, fertilize, and collect
monitoring samples. Initial supervision by someone familiar with the intent
of the sampling is needed.
Versatility
The technology could easily be adapted to other locations; the main issue
Primary
would be selection of plant species and nutrients appropriate for the site.
Maintenance
No equipment maintenance is required. Seasonal/annual inspection to
Primary
assure that plants are growing is useful. Sampling schedule needs to be
tailored to meet regulatory and technical needs. Annually is likely the most
frequent schedule that one would use. Less frequently would likely be
appropriate from a technical perspective.
Scale-Up
There are no engineering limitations involved in the move from
Primary
Constraints
demonstration-scale to full-scale implementation of this technology. Full-
scale use of the technology should be relatively easy to initiate. Seeding
and fertilization of larger areas will bring increased costs for materials and
labor, but the per-unit cost should go down due to economies of scale, and
the techniques remain the same as for the ESTCP demonstrations. The
main cost issues involve the number of monitoring samples to be taken and
the types of analyses to be performed.
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