applied sciences Article Remediation of a Petroleum Hydrocarbon-Contaminated Site by Soil Vapor Extraction: A Full-Scale Case Study Claudia Labianca 1,* , Sabino De Gisi 1 , Francesco Picardi 2, Francesco Todaro 1 and Michele Notarnicola 1 1 Department of Civil, Environmental, Land, Building Engineering and Chemistry, Polytechnic University of Bari, Via E. Orabona 4, 70125 Bari, Italy;
[email protected] (S.D.G.);
[email protected] (F.T.);
[email protected] (M.N.) 2 Eni Spa, Piazzale Enrico Mattei 1, 00144 Roma, Italy;
[email protected] * Correspondence:
[email protected]; Tel.: +39-0805963279 Received: 8 June 2020; Accepted: 19 June 2020; Published: 22 June 2020 Abstract: Spills, leaks, and other environmental aspects associated with petroleum products cause hazards to human health and ecosystems. Chemicals involved are total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), solvents, pesticides, and other heavy metals. Soil vapor extraction (SVE) is one of the main in-situ technologies currently employed for the remediation of groundwater and vadose zone contaminated with volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The performance of an SVE remediation system was examined for a petroleum hydrocarbon-contaminated site with attention to remediation targets and final performance. The study assessed: (1) the efficiency of a full-scale remediation system and (2) the influence of parameters affecting the treatment system effectiveness. Results showed how VOC concentration in soil was highly reduced after four year treatment with a global effectiveness of 73%. Some soil samples did not reach the environmental threshold limits and, therefore, an extension of the remediation period was required. The soil texture, humidity, permeability, and the category of considered pollutants were found to influence the amount of total extracted VOCs.