Application of in situ chemical oxidation technique with potassium permanganate for the remediation of a shallow aquifer contaminated with chlorinated solvents

Abstract

In situ chemical oxidation is a method that is frequently being used for the remediation of contaminated areas, since it presents an adequate efficiency in the reduction of the contaminant mass, particularly chlorinated ethenes, in a relatively short period of time. This manuscript presents the results of the application of this method, using the injection of potassium permanganate as the remediation agent, in an impacted area with chlorinated organic compounds, especially 1,1-dichloroethene. The effectiveness of this remediation method is related to the complexity of the conceptual model of the contaminated site and to the conduction of specific studies in laboratory and pilot tests in field scale, prior to the accomplishment of the full-scale remediation. Therefore, this work contributes presenting a description of the procedures that are commonly used for conducting this kind of studies. In the case under study, it was estimated that the mass of 1.1-dichloroethene (1.1-DCE) was reduced from 15.53 to 1.81 kg in groundwater 22 months after the injection of potassium permanganate in the aquifer. The average concentrations of 1.1-DCE in groundwater decreased from 200 to 24 µg/L, which value is lower than the environmental standard limit and also to the calculated target of remediation based on human-health risk assessment. Significant contamination rebounds were not identified in the aquifer after the injection of the chemical oxidant. The suitable results of the remediation in this case may be related to the relatively low aquifer heterogeneity and low original concentrations of the contaminant.