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ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGY: RECOVERY OF CONTAMINATED LOCATIONS
The contamination of environmental vectors soil, subterranean water, surface water and sediments as a consequence of industrial, agricultural and livestock farming activities is quite common in many countries. In Catalonia alone, the number of registered contaminated soils is around 1000, which need and will need recovery projects during the period 2007-2012.
The current legislation regarding contaminated soils gives priority to those recovery methods which make it possible to reduce the contaminants in situ using low cost technologies which minimise the removal of the contaminated vector (soil, sediment, subterranean water) to special waste sites. In this context research and development is being carried out on several recovery technologies which include treatments for contaminated soils, sediments and subterranean waters through biological methods (bioremediation, natural attenuation), physical (vapour extraction, tensioactives) and chemical treatments (advanced oxidants, reactive barriers). These recovery methods are potentially very important which is a fact to be taken into account and which makes them highly competitive and sustainable environmental technologies. The most common typology of contaminants treated includes mineral oils, heavy metals, BTEX (benzene, toluene, etilbenzene and xylene), HAPs (aromatic polycyclic hydrocarbons), chlorinated hydrocarbons (perchloroethylene, trichloroethylene and byproducts) and other compounds such as nitrates, different types of pesticides and cyanides.
Based on these alternatives research into and development of recovery technologies are carried out in the laboratory to obtain a full scale evaluation of the best recovery alternatives. In order to carry out these studies, ATA counts with modern instruments which make it possible to count with physical, chemical and microbiological analysis for characterising the contaminating agents as well as the means for designing reactive transportation of contaminants.
The area collaborates with several Research centers (GIRO, CSIC) and university departments (UPC´s Chemical Engineering Department) and participates actively in the following forums and networks:
- Xarxa NICOLE, Network of Industrial Contaminated Land in Europe
- Environmental Commission of the Cololegi Oficial d' Enginyers Industrials de Catalunya
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