Soil Remediation

Pilot Plant Studies using the BRAYSORB^® Process,
US Department Of Energy, Savannah River Plants

At the Savannah River site of the DOE, degreasing solvents had been spilled over many years and had seriously contaminated the soil. The site was selected for demonstration of various techniques to remove the chemicals from the soil and control their release. A NUCON BRAYSORB^® pilot plant operational study was performed by NUCON using a pilot plant designed and constructed by NUCON under a cooperative agreement with the DOE and other industry partners. The results showed that vapors extracted from the soil could be effectively removed by activated carbon beds, and the Brayton cycle process for regenerating the beds with hot gas was effective in restoring the carbon to good condition. A full-size system has been proposed for remediation of the rest of the soil at the site.

 Emission Control from Soil Vapor Extraction

A former industrial site in Southern California was contaminated with chlorinated hydrocarbons spilled during manufacturing operations. Remediation of this "superfund" site was performed by the original owner. Soil vapor extraction operations vaporized the solvents from the soil. Control of the vapor emissions was performed by installing activated carbon beds which had been fabricated by NUCON. The activated carbon used was NUCON NUSORB^® Grade GC60-3 pelleted material. When the carbon was saturated with the vapors, the beds were regenerated "in place" by a NUCON Brayton Cycle mobile regenerator for heating gas to vaporize the solvents from the carbon and then cool the gas to condense and separate the liquids. This equipment was designed, built and operated by NUCON. For further information, please request NUCON Document 324.

Mercury Vaporization and Recovery,
Mercury Recovery Services

Mercury Recovery Services has developed equipment which releases mercury from contaminated soils and recovers it for reuse. The process involves heating the soil in trays to completely vaporize the mercury. While most of the mercury vapor is condensed, the amount remaining in the exhaust air is removed by NUCON MERSORB^® adsorbent. This same process is used to dispose of spent MERSORB^® material used for other purification applications.

MERSORB^® is a registered trademark of NUCON International, Inc.