Virotec Global Solutions is pleased to announce that it has successfully trialled a new method of ViroSoil™ Technology related to the treatment of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in soil, and has recently submitted large-scale proposals to implement the Technology for a private contractor at a disused industrial site in South Australia and for a government agency at a contaminated, derelict gasworks site in Victoria.

Gisela Barros, Virotec’s Business Development Manager in charge of the development of the new technology, noted that “we have been working on refining the protocols and methods of the new technology for about six months, and after extensive basic research, a number of laboratory trials and a field trial, we are now in a position to offer the service to clients throughout Australia. The specific techniques used for destroying organic pollutants in soil have been sourced in the United States, but we refined them in Australia to meet local conditions. As far as we know, the methods we’re now deploying are unique to Virotec in Australia. We expect to see a significant growth in our national business coming from this type of treatment.”

Virotec has developed the new methods because of demands from clients. Specifically, Virotec has been repeatedly approached by its clients with problems related to organic contaminants in addition to Virotec’s core business of sequestering heavy metals. Often, heavy metals such as lead, mercury, arsenic and zinc, are present in soil along with other contaminants, particularly when fossil fuel has been burned on site or where synthetic oils and solvents, and hydrocarbons have been poorly handled over many years. When these pollutants enter the soil they remain in place for many decades unless treated. Most worrying is the serious threat to human and environmental health posed by these types of pollutants.

Mr Barros went on to explain that soil treatment in Australia and the United States is concerned with two primary categories of intractable pollutant. The first category includes inorganic heavy metals, such as mercury, arsenic and chromium, often accompanied by acidity and other contaminants. The second category includes three types or organic pollutants: 1) single-bonded, alkanic hydrocarbons, such as benzene; 2) chlorinated hydrocarbons, such as trichloroethylene (TCE) and perchloroethylene (PCE); and 3) polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), such as benzo(a)pyrene (BaP) and naphthalene. Most of these pollutants are classed as POPs, and often these two categories of pollutants are found together requiring treatment either in sequence or parallel by Virotec. To put the problem into perspective, Australia has 1.0 billion m³ of contaminated soil. Similarly, the U.S. generates 340,000 tonnes of sulphuric acid each year, of which 60% contains mercury, and 21,425 potentially contaminated military sites, with 9,640 sites already closed due to contamination.

In order to tackle such problems, Virotec has developed the new form of ViroSoil Technology, which binds inorganic and destroys organic pollutants. Results from three trials conducted in the last six months by Virotec in South Australia and Victoria indicate the following:

1. With a treatment target of 20 mg/kg, ViroSoil Technology reduced PAH from 26 mg/kg to 8.2 mg/kg;
2. With a treatment target of 1.0 mg/kg, ViroSoil Technology reduced BaP from 2.7 mg/kg to <0.5 mg/kg; and
3. With a treatment target of 10 mg/kg, ViroSoil Technology reduced PCE from 3,070 mg/kg to 3.4 mg/kg.

All treatment outcomes were observed within a few minutes to a few hours after application of ViroSoil Technology. Previous case studies presented by Virotec on its web site report treatment outcomes for alkanic hydrocarbons, such as the large-scale project conducted at CEC Constructions in Townsville (www.virotec.com/documents/CEC_CS_30Nov07.pdf).

The uniqueness of these new methods means that Virotec now has an effective tool in its vast arsenal of technologies to completely destroy all three types of intractable organic pollutants in a cost-effective and sustainable way. This breakthrough for the Australian market opens a new horizon of treatment options to Virotec and its clients throughout Australia and the world. Virotec will keep its clients and partners informed of all future progress made in this market segment.