ANN ARBOR, MI, Oct. 11, 2007 -- Total Petrochemicals USA Inc., and the Greensboro Remediation Team won the National Ground Water Association's annual Outstanding Ground Water Project Award for an in-situ thermal remediation project in Greensboro, NC. The Electro-Thermal Dynamic Stripping Process™ developed by McMillan-McGee Corp. applies electrical energy to heat the soil and groundwater to above 212 degrees Fahrenheit, speeding up the release of spilled fuels into vapor and groundwater extracted from the site. The air-powered QED AutoPump® systems are uniquely capable of reliable, long-term operation at the elevated temperatures created by this innovative thermal remediation process. A total of 38 QED pumps were used in Zone I of the project. QED's AutoPumps have a great advantage over electric submersible pumps, which usually have a high temperature limit of 86-140 degrees Fahrenheit.
The Greensboro remediation project included a wide-ranging team of engineers, planners, scientists, health and safety personnel, and construction managers including Ed Tung, president of MK Environmental Inc. Ed enlisted the help of QED in providing the high performance pumps needed to make the innovative clean-up process work. "Support is the strength of QED. I knew from previous experience with QED that they stood behind their products and were constantly working to improve them," said Ed. "We had some problems but QED took care of them and the pumps are working great." It has been estimated that approximately 450,000 gallons of petroleum fuels were released to the soil and groundwater during the Greensboro facility's operation. A former fuel terminal originally built in 1952, the facility was acquired by Total in 1973 and operated until 1990. The facility housed six above-ground storage tanks ranging in size from 800,000 gallons to 2,200,000 gallons that contained leaded and unleaded gasoline, #2 diesel fuel and kerosene.
In 2003, Total decided its existing dual-phase extraction system at the site was too costly and ineffective. Total decided to switch to this alternate system that could accelerate the project to completion within 2-3 years. The Electro-Thermal Dynamic Stripping Process and the use of QED's AutoPumps have been very effective in meeting the remediation objectives for the first treatment zone. Approximately 30,000 gallon equivalents of petroleum hydrocarbons had been removed from Zone 1 by July 2007, with Zone 2 remediation beginning soon.
QED has been a leading manufacturer of environmental monitoring and remediation equipment since 1982. The company's product offerings include treatment equipment; air-powered environmental pumps for groundwater remediation, groundwater sampling, landfill leachate & methane condensate pumping; and wireless remote data collection systems.
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