PEP Review 2008-4

Soil remediation is a significant part of the environmental services. Most remediation projects have been conducted by environmental services companies, including engineering and environmental consulting firms. The technologies employed for soil remediation include traditional technologies such as incineration and solidification/stabilization; and emerging/innovative technologies such as air sparging, soil-vapor extraction, thermal desorption, and bioremediation. From a cost estimation perspective, soil remediation technologies can be broadly classified into two groups: in situ technologies and ex situ technologies. These two groups of treatment methods entail major differences in the provision of remedial services and, consequently, in the methods used to estimate costs. In this PEP review, we discuss the process and economics two ex situ soil remediation technologies: solvent extraction and soil washing.