Q: What is the Cross-Fire soil remediation technology?
A: The CROSS-FIRE process is an innovative cost efficient method of on-site, ex situ soil remediation based on a specialized, highly portable remediation trailer, its proprietary thermal remediation unit and process. The CROSS-FIRE technology is a low emission thermal remediation technology that has been identified as an insignificant source of air emissions.
Q: What type of soil contamination does this technology remediate?
A: The CROSS-FIRE technology is for the remediation of non-RCRA petroleum hydrocarbon contamination in soil and substrate. It has been very successful on MTBE, works on PAH contamination.
Q: What is the targeted market for this method of soil cleaning?
A: Our market includes, but is not limited to the following: Owners of contaminated properties, airport owners / fuel operations, bulk fuel storage facilities, drilling industry, BRAC clean-ups and restoration, Petroleum Brownfield Remediation, Railroad properties, Retail Petroleum outlets, Oil and gas sector, Pipeline operations. Oil impacted beaches and Environmental Engineering Firms.
Q: What is the Mobilization and Set up time to be operational at the contaminated location?
A: About a week with times likely to decrease for mobilization. We can be operational and cleaning soil in usually 2 hours after arrival on site, if fuel is on-site.
Q: Can we clean clay soil?
A: Yes, The clay soil like all soil must be screened through a 2 inch minus screen then fed into the specialized remediation trailer.
Q: What is the temperature?
A: The temperatures are in the 2000 degree plus range at contact with small amounts of highly mixed soil particulates. “The temperature of the hot burner flame in contact with the soil serves as an air emission control device that is equivalent to an afterburner in traditional SRUs (Soil remediation units) that operate at much lower temperatures” (source: technical analysis report Alaska DEC)
Q: What is the retention time of soil in the remediation unit?
A: This terminology applies to “traditional batch type fuel guzzling thermal methods”. This technology is not a batch type burner. If comparing to a batch burner that cleans 10 ton batches. This technology processes soil at 20 to 45 tons per hour. When compared to a 10 ton batch burner the retention time is 30 minutes (at 20 TPH) to 13.3 minutes (at 45 TPH).
Q: Is it possible to clean soil in or below the water table?
A: Yes, the contamination that is above the water table is segregated from that in the water table and remediated first for greater efficiency while the high moisture soil dries. Then the soil is cleaned.
Q: What are the emissions to the atmosphere from this thermal technology?
A: Air emissions from this process for CO, NOx, PM, SO2 and VOC when classed as a stationary source (8760 hours) are each less than 0.44 ton per year This process is considered an insignificant source of air emissions by the US EPA and most state environmental agencies that have emission based permits.
Q: This is a green technology, please explain your carbon CO2 Emissions and “carbon foot print”.
A: The table below gives a comparison of the CO2 production between CROSS-FIRE (ex situ, on-site thermal), a method of in situ (on-site thermal desorption), and traditional (ex-situ off-site thermal desorption).
Carbon Dioxide emissions per ton of treated soil based on fuel usage
(Values in kilograms and pounds per Ton)
CROSS-FIRE remediation technology is far less polluting and far more cost efficient than in-situ electrical resistance thermal which may utilize hundreds of thousands of kilowatts of power over the long remediation process.
* The variability is due to the fact that the processing rate varies from 20 to 45 tons per hour while using the same amount of fuel
There are often more carbon emissions to the atmosphere just transporting contaminated soil to a treatment, disposal, or storage facility than cleaning it on-site using CROSS-FIRE thermal remediation technology.