Semivolatile organic (GC-MS) and inorganic analyses of groundwater samples during the hydrous pyrolysis/oxidation (HPO) field test in Visalia, CA, 1997

Hydrous pyrolysis/oxidation (HPO) is a novel, in situ, thermal-remediation technology that uses hot, oxygenated groundwater to completely oxidize a wide range of organic pollutants. A field demonstration of HPO was performed during the summer of 1997 at the Southern California Edison Pole Yard in Visalia, California, a site contaminated with creosote. The goal of the field experiment was to confirm the success of HPO under field remediation conditions. The groundwater was heated by steam injections, and oxygen was added by co-injection of compressed air. The progress of the HPO remediation process was evaluated by monitoring groundwater from multiple wells for dissolved oxygen, dissolved inorganic carbon, and dissolved organic contaminant levels. Analyses of groundwater chemistry allowed us to measure the concentrations of creosote components and to identify oxygenated intermediates produced by the HPO treatment. Dissolved organic carbon levels increased in response to steam injections because of the enhanced dissolution and mobilization of the creosote into the heated groundwater. Elevated concentrations of phenols and benzoic acid were measured in wells affected by the steam injections. Concentrations of other oxygenated compounds (i.e., fluorenone, anthrone, and 9,10-anthracenedione) increased in response to the steam injections. The production of these partially oxidized compounds is consistent with the aqueous-phase HPO reactions of creosote. Additional changes in the groundwater in response to steam injection were also consistent with the groundwater HPO chemistry. A drop in dissolved oxygen was observed in the aquifer targeted for the steam injections, and isotope shifts in the dissolved inorganic pool reflected the input of oxidized carbon derived from the creosote carbon.