Coordination of the TV 2 (gasworks, coking plants, coal tar processing, (wood) preservation and development of guide lines
Coordination of the TV 2 (gasworks, coking plants, coal tar processing, (wood) preservation and development of guide lines
in the BMBF funding priority KORA: "Controlled natural retention and degradation of pollutants in the remediation of contaminated soils and groundwater"
Former project leader: Prof. Dr. Peter Werner (emeritus)
Funding: Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF)
Duration: April 2002 - September 2007
The thematic group 2 within the BMBF-funding priority KORA concentrated its work on sites which showed a pollution with tar-oils. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) are the main group of pollutants at these sites. Other pollutants typical of the industry include monoaromatics (BTEX), heterocycles (NSO-PAK), phenols, and petroleum hydrocarbons.
The basic questions to be answered by TV 2 in the course of the research work can be summarized as follows:
- Under what conditions are tar constituents degraded in aquifers?
- How can the relevant geophysical, geochemical and biological conditions leading to degradation be recorded?
- How can these parameters be evaluated for their effect on accelerated degradation?
- Are temporal predictions on natural retention and degradation possible based on the determination of these parameters?
- Can the experience gained be transferred to other sites?
- Will it thus be possible in the future, through the recording of specific relevant parameters, to make generally valid statements with regard to NA or to apply ENA, given sufficient knowledge of a site?
At the end of the project, the results of the research work were compiled in a guideline. It is essential to generalize the results so that they can be transferred to other tar oil processing/industry sites with similar pollutant inventories. This guideline is intended to serve as a tool for the authorities, engineering offices and problem owners when dealing with such projects and to enable the implementation of the NA concept in practice.
Four sites (2 gas plants, 1 coking plant, 1 wood impregnation plant) of different character were integrated in TV 2. Each object had a site-specific pollutant pattern with its own corresponding milieu conditions.
In order to determine the natural self-purification potential, the hydrogeochemical and microbiological conditions at the above-mentioned sites were first to be recorded and evaluated. Furthermore, possibilities to stimulate biodegradation in the subsurface were investigated. Other focal points of the work were the development of new methods that enabled simple determination of natural degradation processes. The transfer of laboratory experiments to field conditions was also an important task of TV 2.
In addition to the site projects, two projects dealt with cross-site issues. These projects mainly dealt with the identification and quantification of degradation products as well as their eco- and human toxicological relevance.
In order to ensure an efficient procedure, the research tasks in the thematic network were processed in close cooperation between the individual projects. Furthermore, an interdisciplinary dialogue and an exchange with scientists, representatives of authorities, etc. took place outside the funding priority in order to ensure the flow of information here as well.