The West Garfield County, Colorado Landfill (WGCL) receives petroleum- contaminated soil (PCS) from various oil and gas operators in their region. The PCS that meets Colorado Department of Public Health standards is used as daily cover at landfills. The PCS that does not meet these standards requires further treatment. The WGCL needed a process to treat the non-compliant PCS so that it could be used as daily cover on their landfill.
ECS was selected to design and provide the equipment necessary to process non- compliant PCS using our Aerated Static Pile (ASP) technology. The project begins with a 1,500-cubic yard pilot system to test various mix recipes, bulk densities and aeration rates to optimize the treatment process.
The pilot system process is a negative-only aeration system with a Pipe-on-Grade (POG) aeration floor. Process air is pulled through the pile, into the POG and then is pushed through a biofilter for treatment before discharge to the atmosphere. The individual ASP piles are also covered with an impervious cover (AC Composter™ Cover). Pipes with perforations are placed on top of the ASP piles and under the AC Composter™ covers to allow an entry pathway for outside fresh air.
Once the process is optimized and tested ECS will provide the design and equipment for a full-scale facility that will treat 14,000 tons of PCS per year.