WorldWide Drilling Resource

38 SEPTEMBER 2015 WorldWide Drilling Resource ® Unique Groundwater Contamination Solution Compiled by Bonnie Love, Editor, WorldWide Drilling Resource ® Archer Daniels Midland Co. (ADM) plans to use a modified version of the hydraulic fracturing process used in the oil and gas industry, to clean up a groundwater contam- ination problem at its soybean extraction plant in northeast Lincoln, Nebraska. The Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) gave the company preliminary approval to inject emulsified zero-valent iron (EZVI) and emulsified veg- etable oil solutions under high pressure into the ground to help get rid of carbon tetrachloride and dibromomethane which has been present for decades. Carbon tetrachloride was commonly used as a grain fumigant to kill insects during the 1950s and 1960s. ADM officials believe the contamination was present when the grain elevator complex was purchased in 1966. Separate investigations done by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and ADM in 2007-08 found carbon tetrachloride levels in groundwater samples exceeding 3400 parts per billion; the federal health standard for that chemical compound is 5 parts per billion. EZVI treatment was originally developed by researchers at NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) and the University of Central Florida to treat contamination at the Kennedy Space Center. It was de- signed as an in situ treatment of dense nonaqueous phase liquids. Since car- bon tetrachloride is a clear, nonflamma- ble liquid which is almost insoluble in water, EZVI will be injected into the contaminated area where it will neutralize the chemicals using nano-scale iron particles. The contaminates react with the EZVI and become degraded into ethene and other nontoxic hydrocarbons, which will break down during the natural biological activities of the soil. The award-winning EZVI is not only environmentally safe, it also produces less toxic and more easily degradable by-products than other treatments. The company will monitor the progress of the treatment over a period of three years using tiltmeters, and by monitoring the groundwater using on-site monitoring wells. They will also be required to submit the results from the first round of injections, prior to doing any additional injections. DEQ officials say although ADM's plan does involve a small amount of environ- mental fracturing of the shallow subsurface of the ground, it is not the same as the hydraulic technology used to increase oil production; it is on a much smaller scale, and the goal is to improve groundwater quality. If the DEQ grants the company a per- mit to use the technology, ADM will use high pressure to create fractures at depths of 8-40 feet and then inject or pneumatically push the solutions into the ground at 14 locations on the plant site. In November 2013, workers used more than 9000 gallons of EZVI to treat sub- surface contaminants near the Reutilization, Recycling and Marketing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Image Credit: NASA/Anne Chrest ~ The Centerline 7 1/2” x 10” hydraulic drive duplex mud pump ~ Fits in the place of a common 5” x 6” duplex ~ weighs 1000 lbs less ~ pumps twice the rated flow~at over twice the rated pressure ~ Centerline Manufacturing Co. 903-725-6978 ~ www.centerlinemanufacturing.com ~ Mud pumps for the 21st century ~ Monopumps models rated: 180 gpm Duplex models rated: 300 gpm Triplex models rated: 450 gpm 500 or 800 psi models available in aluminum or iron. U.S. Pat. #6,769,884 and others pending ~ Centerline mud pumps are getting the job done from Canada to Australia, China to Peru ~ Centerline Manufacturing is proud to be your complete stocking source for American Manufacturing mud pump parts!! "0",-" - 0 &' '" &) (*-. -&2"- )! )/( ", *# ' !"- "1 -"! &.- *'" +")",- , $ &.- &)$- ((",- ((", &.- &0",.",- " .&++&)$ . &'&2",- ' 1 &.- &+" &+"- *'. *) "".% / - * &'" &. *&) ,*! %*.( &' *( 111 &. *&) /-