STRESOIL

This FP6-funded project counts four main partners: GEUS (Denmark), Forth-ICE (University of Patras, Greece), IFP (France) and Hydrogeotechnika (Poland). It began in June 2004.

Its goal is to assess the advantages of employing hydraulic fractures in hydrocarbon-contaminated clayey soil to spur pollution abatement. It will assess fracture-enabled permeability gains associated with two remediation options (hydrocarbon stimulation by steam injection, and elimination by ventilation and/or biodegradation). These processes are being tested in laboratories, in-situ (on a pilot-scale operation in Kluczewo, and airfield in Poland) and on numerical simulation applications.

IFP is working on the microbiological-decontamination chapter on those three fronts. It is worth pointing out that a module dealing with dual-porosity transfer by diffusion has been added to the PolluSIM code. This code models future developments in subsurface pollution, their impact on ground water and air, and the expected efficiency of pollution-abatement options under review. IFP is also involved in this project’s chapter dealing with analytical characterization of pollution (quantifying kerosene in-situ) and assessing transfer to water (appraising health risks associated with residual-compound mobility after treatment). At the end of this project, all partners will team up to widely circulate a brief methodological guide reviewing the feasibility of tested processes, along with a technical and economical assessment based on experience feedback.

>> Further information: Stresoil project website