Treatment
Soil with concentrations of contaminants equal to or exceeding the standards in Annex 1 of the RESC must be decontaminated; we are able to provide this service using our thermal desorption unit and other available methods.
List of contaminants by treatment
| Contaminants present in soil | Treatment |
| Monocyclic aromatic volatile organic compounds | SVE |
| Petroleum hydrocarbons | Bio |
| Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) | T |
| Chlorinated aliphatic* volatile organic compounds | SVE |
| Non-chlorinated phenol compounds | Bio |
| Chlorinated phenol compounds* | Bio |
| Non-chlorinated benzene compounds | Bio |
| Chlorobenzenes* | C |
| Chlorinated pesticides* | C |
| Non-chlorinated pesticides | C |
| PCB | C |
* A concentration threshold applies to these compounds
Legend
SVE : soil vapour extraction
Bio : biological treatment
T : thermal treatment
C : chemical treatment
A-Thermal treatment
We are able to treat PHCs C10 C50 and PAHs with our desorption unit.
B - Soil vapour extraction
Enhanced volatilization: a complementary treatment service
As their name suggests, volatile compounds have a strong tendency to be present in the form of vapour. Among the most common volatile compounds are monocyclic aromatic hydrocarbons such as benzene and toluene and chlorinated solvents such as perchloroethylene, a degreaser commonly used in drycleaning. Soil contaminated by these products can be received at our transfer centre, authorized by certificate of authorization from the Ministère de l'Environnement du Québec on April 26, 2004.
At the transfer centre, the features of which are presented in the News section, we use the physical characteristic of volatility to extract organic contaminants from the soil. The method used is called enhanced volatilization. Soil contaminated with volatile products received at the transfer centre is immediately put under a waterproof tarpaulin underneath which are a network of perforated drains. These drains are connected to a vacuum pump that, by creating a pressure differential under the tarpaulin, increases the extraction of volatile contaminants through volatilization. The vapours drawn in are captured by activated carbon filters. The procedure is simple, reliable and highly effective. Depending on the level of residual contamination, the treated soil can then be made available for re-use or disposed of in our maximum-security cells.
C – Biological treatment
Some hydrocarbons can be broken down using microorganisms, this is called bioremediation. Soils are put into windrows, optimizing the living conditions for microorganisms. This is a method that is well suited to the treatment of PHCs C10 C50.
D – Chemical treatment
Certain contaminants can be destroyed effectively using chemical solutions. This method is suitable for substances that are highly resistant to biological treatments, and for which thermal treatment is not the most suitable.
