Design and operation of a full-scale aerobic biobarrier

An aerobic biobarrier has been installed at an industrial site in northern Italy in order to prevent contaminant migration beyond the site borders. The full-scale biobarrier, which is based on biosparging, has been in operation since November 1998. Prior to designing and installing the full-scale system, the effectivity of the system has been tested in a pilot plant. Results showed that in the first four months of full-scale operation the total mass flux of contaminants leaving the site via the groundwater dropped by 98%. Expectations are that within a few more months, the quality of the groundwater leaving the site will be below the total aromatic hydrocarbons target value of 10 ppb, which is the national standard for drinking water quality.