Ozone as a Remediation technique for the treatment of Hydrocarbons in post-industrial sites in Glasgow

The study was designed to examine the feasibility of the use of ozone as a remediation technique for the treatment of soils contaminated with hydrocarbons. The site selected for study is a post-industrial site that has been identified for remediation and reuse for housing within the Glasgow region. The site is contaminated as a result of production and storage of aviation fuel with a range of hydrocarbons and derivatives including hexane, benzene, toluene and naphthalene presenting varying degrees of environmental and health risks if left untreated prior to the sites reuse. This study involves taking samples of soil from across the study site, treatment of the samples with ozone over a period of time within a purpose made reactor, and analysing the Total Petroleum Hydrocarbon (TPH) content and composition utilising GC/FID. The level and nature of the TPH contamination will be tracked in order to allow a degradation profile for the aromatic and aliphatic compounds within the contamination to be identified.
The impact of varying lengths of soil treatment with ozone on the microbial soil population will be assessed through the monitoring of respiration as an indicator of microbial activity within the soil with the aim of understanding the effects of the use of ozone remediation for this site and the impact it will have on the microbial population which potentially have a role to play in the sites remediation. The resulting data will be used to confirm the viability of ozone as a remediation technique for the site and from this conclusion a calculation for the optimum length of treatment for the site while considering the impact on the natural soil microbial population, depending upon hydrocarbon combination, will be determined. The study will also assess the viability of gravimetric techniques in general as a means of providing a low-cost method for assessing the effectiveness of ozone remediation and its potential for use within a non-laboratory based environment.