Development of a national tool for assessing the environmental footprint of cleanup technologies in the framework of the green remediation approach

Transcription

1 The 3 International conference on Sustainable Remediation Greening Remediation Development of a national tool for assessing the environmental footprint of cleanup technologies in the framework of the green remediation approach F. Polli and R. Baciocchi (University of Rome Tor Vergata - Italy) A. Forni (Environmental Consultant - Italy) R. Riberti and M. Aloisi (Arpa EMR sez. Prov. Bologna Italy) M. Falconi (ISPRA)

2 Content Green and Sustainable Remedia3on in the Italian context Background Methodology for assessing the environmental footprint of cleanup technologies in the Italian context Metrics and Methodology Case Study In Situ Chemical Oxida3on (ISCO) and In Situ Chemical Reduc3on (ISCR) Conclusion and Future developments

3 Green and Sustainable Remedia3on in the Italian context Sustainable Remedia/on SUSTAINABILITY Green Remedia/on: the process for remedia3on and management of contaminated site, aimed at iden3fying the best solu3on when considering environmental, social and economics factors, through a balanced decision process, agreed by stakeholders (SuRF Italy, 2012) ENVIRONMENTAL SOCIAL ECONOMIC The prac3ce of considering all environmental effects of remedy implementa3on and incorpora3ng op3ons to maximize net environmental benefit of cleanup ac3ons (U.S. EPA 2008) ENVIRONMENTAL Italian legisla/on annex 3 part IV, 152/06: Introduced the concept of environmental benefits (prefer cleanup op3ons that reuse soil and reduce waste, avoid risk of emission of pollutants in air, groundwater and soil) Introduced the concept of the economic sustainability (consider the sustainability of costs during the selec3on of cleanup op3ons) Introduced the concept of the social sustainability (prefer cleanup op3ons that reduce risk from transport of waste - using in situ op3ons- avoid risk of noise and smells)

4 Background Currently in Italy.. the selec3on of cleanup technologies is based on the evalua3ons of the removal efficiency, the 3me needed to obtain the remedia3on goals, and the costs. Recently different na3onal environmental agencies have started to include sustainability as one of the elements for the evalua3on of a cleanup technology. In the future while comparing different op3ons, not only economical but also social and environmental aspects need to be accounted for. Aim of the on- going ac/vity: the development of a na3onal methodology for the assessment of the sustainability of cleanup technologies in the Italian context. This work is focused on GREEN REMEDIATION.

5 Methodology for assessing the environmental footprint of cleanup technologies in the Italian context This methodology was based on the U.S. EPA report Methodology for Understanding and Reducing a Project s Environmental Footprint (2012), that provides green remedia3on metrics associated with contaminated site cleanup and a process to quan3fy those metrics in order to obtain a greener cleanup. For this reason the U.S. EPA tool "SEFA" (Spreadsheets for Environmental Footprint Analysis), which supports the assessment of footprint metrics established in the methodology, was adapted to the Italian condi/ons, by replacing the U.S. database with an Italian site- specific one. Italian Energy Mix Transport distance base on case data

6 Metrics and Methodology (1/2) Core Elements* Metrics Materials and Waste Mw Mw 1 Mw 2 Mw 3 Mw 4 Mw 5 Mw 6 Mw 7 Total materials used on site and total waste produced on- site Refined materials used on- site Percent of refined materials from recycled or waste materials Unrefined materials used on- site Percent of unrefined materials from recycled or waste materials On- site hazardous waste generated On- site non hazardous waste generated Percent of total poten3al on- site waste that is recycled or reused Water W On- site water use (by source) Energy E Total energy use Air A A 1 A 2 Total NO x, SO x, PM 10 and GHG (CO 2 eq) emissions Total NO x, SO x, PM 10 emissions Total GHG (CO 2 eq) emissions *Methodology for Understanding and Reducing a Project s Environmental Footprint EPA. (2012)

7 Metrics and Methodology (2/2) Core elements <<E and A>> indirectly estimated from the remedy information. Fuels use For equipment, materials, waste and personnel transporta3on For heavy equipment use Electricity use for typical remedia3on components Construc3on materials Treatment Materials and Chemicals Public water Offsite Services (e.g. waste water treatment, solid waste disposal..) *Methodology for Understanding and Reducing a Project s Environmental Footprint EPA. (2012)

8 Case Study Loca/on Residen3al area in a city center of Northern Italy Contamina/on Groundwater contaminated by chlorinated solvents (Area = 2,400 m 2 ) Remedia/on goals C TCE max = 250 µg/l C TCE max = 1.5 µg/l

9 Selec3on of cleanup op3ons Remedia3on Strategies Monitored Natural A`enua/on (MNA) In Situ Chemical Oxida/on (ISCO) using potassium permanganate In Situ Chemical Reduc/on (ISCR) using electron- donor products Monitoring well Oxidant reagent (Potassium permanganate) Reductant reagent (electron- donor products) Data ISCO ISCR Wells (monitoring +injec3on) wells ISCO ~1,5 wells ISCO Pipes pipes ISCO ~1,5 pipes ISCO Excava3on volume volume ISCO ~1,5 volume ISCO EXCLUDED (NO EVIDENCE OF NATURAL ANAEROBIC DEGRADATION) Reagent reagent ISCO ~0,6 reagent ISCO Water used source GW + public water public water Electricity Reagent injec3on + water pumping Reagent injec3on Transport Waste + material s+ workers Waste + materials+ workers

10 Environmental Footprint of cleanup op3ons Materials and Waste Mw ISCO < Mw ISCR Mw1 refined materials = Reagent, PVC, HDPE, Cement Mw3 unrefined materials = Sand, concrete Mw6 waste generated = Drilling waste

11 Environmental Footprint of cleanup op3ons Water W ISCO >> W ISCR ISCO ISCR Water used source public water GW public water reagent ISCO >> reagent ISCR Oxidant solu3on prepared on site

12 Environmental Footprint of cleanup op3ons Energy E ISCO < E ISCR

13 Environmental Footprint of cleanup op3ons A 1 - Total NOx, SOx, PM10 emissions A 1 ISCO < A 1 ISCR

14 Environmental Footprint of cleanup op3ons A 2 - Total GHG (CO2eq) emissions A 2 ISCO < A 2 ISCR

15 Environmental Footprint of cleanup op3ons Comparison of the total environmental footprint of the cleanup op/ons. normaliza3on ISCO Enviromental Footprint ISCR Enviromental Footprint

16 Conclusions Advantages of this methodology User friendly tool Quan/ta/ve site- specific analysis of Environmental Impacts based on U.S. EPA methodology Disadvantages Several data are required Limited Environmental metrics Limited database conversion factors (e.g. ISCO and ISCR reagents = same conversion factor)

17 Future developments Development of a national database Introduction of other environmental indicators Comparison with LCA and other green remediation tools

18 Conclusion Contacts Renato Baciocchi Flavia Polli Andrea Forni Roberto Riberti Manuela Aloisi Marco Falconi