Soil Laboratory of fate and transport of PFAS
Location
The Soil Laboratory of fate and transport is an innovative testing laboratory for soil and water remediation. PRIME is an intermediate link between laboratory scale and the contaminated sites. It enables the development, qualification and validation at different scales, of the tools, models and methods needed to identify pollution in the soil-groundwater continuum, predict its potential impact and remedy it in an innovative and environmentally friendly manner. PRIME’s experimentation facilities are housed in a purpose-built 1,000m² hall located near BRGM’s analytical facilities. PRIME is a facility classified for environmental protection and therefore gives industrial and academic partners the opportunity to develop and test remediation solutions for potentially hazardous substances.
The management of polluted sites and soils is crucial from an environmental as well as from a health and economic perspective. BRGM’s PRIME platforms in Orléans are experimental facilities with 3 objectives: i) identify and quantify ground, subsurface and groundwater pollution, ii) predict their potential impact on our environment in the short and medium term and iii) propose solutions (tools and methods) for remediating and studying the affected areas.
Description
PRIME makes it possible to carry out experiments at different scales:
Submetric platform
Experiments conducted at the centimetre scale are carried out in columns or vats. They allow precise measurement of a given phenomenon, such as the degradation of pollutants by micro-organisms and absorption processes. Submetric pilot facilities allow the identification of transport mechanisms in the ground and its different components, which is more difficult at larger scales. The range of action of a pollutant pump can be studied in the tanks and monitored by imaging and geophysical methods. These tests can be carried out under different temperature conditions or with the addition of chemical compounds (surfactants, foams, etc.) to optimise the recovery of pollutants.
Metric column
The metric columns simulate, at an intermediate scale, the polluted environment from the ground surface down to the groundwater table. The LABBIO pilot facility can be used to study the migration of pollutants between these different levels, but also to develop techniques for neutralising or stabilising pollutants. This platform is an exceptional innovative facility for improving our understanding of the phenomena taking place between the different compartments or environments of the ground and subsurface.
Plurimetric pilot
The PRIME plurimetric pilot is a large facility simulating natural ground and groundwater for studying the transport of pollutants and the physicochemical and microbiological changes they undergo. The plurimetric pilot plant is highly modular and includes numerous sensors. It is designed to enable any users, including research institutions and private companies, to carry out experiments under the most realistic conditions possible, but that are far better controlled. This pilot facility is a large experimental tank (10.40 m long, 3.6 m wide and 4 m high). With an effective volume of approximately 120 m³, reaction processes occurring in areas that are unsaturated and saturated with water can be analysed on a large scale and in 3D. The tank’s walls are equipped with access holes that offer the possibility of installing sensors or more widely measuring at different depths all around the facility for the duration of the test. The PMP have been used in the PROMISCES projet to simulate.
Specific features
PRIME platforms carry out multi-contaminant (inorganic and organic), multi-matrix (soil, sediment, water, rock) and multi-method (physical, chemical, biological) studies.
PRIME has already contributed to the understanding and rehabilitation of environments polluted by hydrocarbons (petrol station leaks for example), chlorinated solvents (used in dry cleaning, degreasing for metallurgy, etc.), pesticides (in crops) and heavy metals (linked to industrial and mining activities).
Its platforms are also developing innovative eco-technologies, for example using the properties of micro-organisms or nanoparticles to clean up pollution.
Used tools
HYDRUS, MODLFOW and MT3D
Lead
BRGM
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Research Executive Agency (REA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.