Pump-and-treat pollution treatment, also known as "pump and treat", is a technique commonly used to remove contaminants from contaminated groundwater. This method is often used to remove industrial chemicals, such as solvents, oils, heavy metals and pesticides.
The pump-and-treat process involves pumping contaminated groundwater through extraction wells to a treatment plant, where it is treated to remove contaminants. Common treatments used in this method include aeration, filtration, adsorption, thermal desorption, oxidation and bio-remediation.
The choice of treatment depends on the nature and quantity of contaminants present in the groundwater. For example, aeration can be used to remove volatile compounds, such as solvents, by converting them from a liquid to a gaseous state, while bio-remediation can be used to remove organic contaminants using micro-organisms that degrade the pollutants.
Once the contaminants have been eliminated, the treated water can be released back into the environment or reused for industrial purposes. Extraction wells can also be fitted with monitoring systems to track treatment efficiency and detect any new contamination.
Pump-and-treat is an effective method of removing contaminants from groundwater, but it can be costly and time-consuming due to the need to pump large quantities of groundwater and treat the contaminants. In addition, this method may not be effective in removing certain types of contaminants, such as heavy metals, which may be difficult to remove with conventional treatments.
For in-situ remediation, other treatment methods can be used, such as controlled natural attenuation, biodegradation, biosparging, thermal desorption, dual-phase extraction, flushing, chemical oxidation, pump and skim, chemical reduction, sparging or venting.