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| Resource Library > Technology Transfer > Programs and Initiatives > Bioventing > Bioventing Sites |
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Bioventing Sites, as of September 1995
Bioventing is the process of aerating soils to stimulate in situ biological activity and promote bioremediation. Bioventing typically is applied in situ to the vadose zone and is applicable to any chemical that can be aerobically biodegraded, but to date has been implemented primarily at petroleum-contaminated sites. The Armstrong Laboratory Environics Directorate (an element of the Air Force Human Systems Center now part of the Air Force Research Laboratory) began its research and development (R&D) program in bioventing in 1988 with a study at Hill Air Force Base (AFB), Utah. Follow-on efforts included field research studies at Tyndall AFB, Florida; Eielson AFB, Alaska; and F.E. Warren AFB, Wyoming, to monitor and optimize process variables. Results from these research efforts led to the AFCEE Bioventing Initiative.
The AFCEE's Bioventing Initiative has involved conducting field treatability studies to evaluate bioventing feasibility at more than 125 sites throughout the US. At those sites where feasibility studies produced positive results, pilot-scale bioventing systems were installed and operated for 1 year. Results from these pilot-scale studies have culminated in production of Volume 1 of the Bioventing Principles and Practice Manual.
The US EPA contributed to the AFCEE Bioventing Initiative in the development of the test plan for conducting the pilot-scale bioventing studies and assisted in the development of Volume 1 of the Manual. The US EPA did this through their own Bioremediation Field Initiative. This initiative was established to provide the US EPA and state project managers, consulting engineers, and industry with timely information regarding new developments in the application of bioremediation at hazardous waste sites. This program sponsored field research to enable US EPA laboratories to more fully document newly developing bioremediation technologies such as bioventing.
The results from bioventing R&D efforts and from the pilot-scale bioventing systems via the AFCEE Bioventing Initiative have been used to produce Volume 1 of the Manual. Although the design Manual was written based on extensive experience with petroleum hydrocarbons (and thus, many examples use this contaminant), the concepts of bioventing should be applicable to any aerobically biodegradable compound. The Manual provides details on bioventing principles; site characterization; field treatability studies; system design, installation, and operation; process monitoring; site closure; and optional technologies to combine with bioventing if warranted. Volume 2 of the Bioventing Principles and Practice Manual focuses on bioventing design and process monitoring.
Through the efforts of the AFCEE Bioventing Initiative and the US EPA Bioremediation Field Initiative, bioventing has been implemented at more than 150 sites and has emerged as one of the most cost-effective and efficient technologies currently available for vadose zone remediation of petroleum-contaminated sites.
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