Nowadays, permeable reactive barriers (PRB) are one of the most widespread techniques for the remediation of contaminated aquifers. Over the past 10 years, the use of iron-based PRBs has evolved from innovative to accepted standard practice for the treatment of a variety of groundwater contaminants (ITRC in: Permeable reactive barriers: lessons learned/new directions. The Interstate Technology and Regulatory Council, Permeable Reactive Barriers Team 2005). Although, a variety of excavation methods have been developed, backhoe excavators are often used for the construction of PRBs. The aim of this study is to describe the emplacement of a full-scale PRB and the benefits deriving from the use of a crawler crane equipped with a hydraulic grab (also known as clamshell excavator) in the excavation phases. The studied PRB was designed to remediate a chlorinated hydrocarbons plume at an old industrial landfill site, in Avigliana, near the city of Torino, in Italy. The continuous reactive barrier was designed to be 120 m long, 13 m deep, and 0.6 m thick. The installation of the barrier was accomplished using a clamshell for the excavation of the trench and a guar-gum slurry to support the walls. The performance of this technique was outstanding and allowed the installation of the PRB in 7 days. The degree of precision of the excavation was very high because of the intrinsic characteristics of this excavation tool and of the use of a concrete curb to guide the hydraulic grab. Moreover, the adopted technique permitted a saving of bioslurry thus minimizing the amount of biocide required.

Clamshell excavation of a permeable reactive barrier / DI MOLFETTA, Antonio; Sethi, Rajandrea. - In: ENVIRONMENTAL GEOLOGY. - ISSN 0943-0105. - ELETTRONICO. - 50:3(2006), pp. 361-369. [10.1007/s00254-006-0215-3]

Clamshell excavation of a permeable reactive barrier

DI MOLFETTA, Antonio;SETHI, RAJANDREA
2006

Abstract

Nowadays, permeable reactive barriers (PRB) are one of the most widespread techniques for the remediation of contaminated aquifers. Over the past 10 years, the use of iron-based PRBs has evolved from innovative to accepted standard practice for the treatment of a variety of groundwater contaminants (ITRC in: Permeable reactive barriers: lessons learned/new directions. The Interstate Technology and Regulatory Council, Permeable Reactive Barriers Team 2005). Although, a variety of excavation methods have been developed, backhoe excavators are often used for the construction of PRBs. The aim of this study is to describe the emplacement of a full-scale PRB and the benefits deriving from the use of a crawler crane equipped with a hydraulic grab (also known as clamshell excavator) in the excavation phases. The studied PRB was designed to remediate a chlorinated hydrocarbons plume at an old industrial landfill site, in Avigliana, near the city of Torino, in Italy. The continuous reactive barrier was designed to be 120 m long, 13 m deep, and 0.6 m thick. The installation of the barrier was accomplished using a clamshell for the excavation of the trench and a guar-gum slurry to support the walls. The performance of this technique was outstanding and allowed the installation of the PRB in 7 days. The degree of precision of the excavation was very high because of the intrinsic characteristics of this excavation tool and of the use of a concrete curb to guide the hydraulic grab. Moreover, the adopted technique permitted a saving of bioslurry thus minimizing the amount of biocide required.
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11583/1399513
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