Ex-situ remediation that spreads petroleum-hydrocarbon-impacted soil in shallow lifts on a prepared treatment pad and biodegrades contaminants by periodic tilling, irrigation, and nutrient amendment. Suited to mid- and heavy-range petroleum hydrocarbons in non-cold-weather climates.
Landfarming is one of the oldest bioremediation methods. Excavated soil is placed on a lined treatment cell in lifts of typically 0.3 to 0.5 metres, periodically tilled to aerate and break up clods, and amended with nutrients and water to sustain microbial activity. Treatment timeframes are months to years depending on contaminant, climate, and target concentration.
The method works well for diesel, fuel oil, and crude-oil-impacted soils with TPH up to roughly 50,000 mg/kg. It is poorly suited to volatile contaminants (which evaporate rather than degrade), to PAHs (which biodegrade slowly), and to halogenated compounds. Regulatory acceptance is strong in Western Canada and the U.S. petroleum sector but increasingly constrained by GHG-emission and odour rules near populated areas.
Also known as: landfarming, land farming, land treatment.
Petroleum Hydrocarbons: treatment approach
The full spectrum of petroleum-derived organic compounds — crude oil, condensate, diesel, gasoline, jet fuel, and bunker fuel — reported analytically as total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) in gasoline-range (C6–C10), diesel-range (C10–C28), and heavy-range (C28–C40) fractions.
An ex-situ soil treatment process that heats contaminated soil to volatilize and separate organic contaminants from the soil matrix, after which the liberated vapors are captured and treated, usually in a high-temperature oxidizer.
A thermal desorption configuration where the heat source contacts the soil directly inside the rotary unit, delivering high heat-transfer efficiency and supporting higher treatment temperatures.
A thermal desorption configuration where heat is conducted through the wall of the treatment vessel without combustion gases contacting the soil, producing a concentrated, lower-volume vapor stream suitable for condensation and recovery.
Treatment that heats contaminated soil and groundwater in place, typically with electrical resistance, thermal conduction, or steam injection, to volatilize and recover contaminants without excavation. Used where excavation is impractical or where the contaminant zone sits beneath active infrastructure.