Petroleum producers faced with the challenge of remediating hydrocarbon contaminated sites regularly turn to Naturally Wallace Consulting (NWC) to solve this difficult challenge. NWC is the world leader in the design and construction of treatment wetlands for on-site bioremediation of petroleum hydrocarbon-
“Utilizing engineered treatment wetlands, what was once an industrial brownfield can be converted to a world-class golf course, a park, and commercial office or light industrial space,” comments Scott Wallace, PE, president of NWC.
Unlike a typical surface water wetland, an engineered wetland incorporates a horizontal subsurface flow gravel bed reactor, lined with an impermeable liner and equipped with a Forced Bed Aeration™ system to enhance oxygen delivery to the aerobic microorganisms in the engineered wetland. Design parameters include biodegradation rate coefficients for petroleum hydrocarbons such as benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylenes (BTEX), flowrate, hydraulic residence time, and influent and required effluent concentrations. Naturally Wallace holds several patents for Forced Bed AerationTM in horizontal and vertical treatment wetlands.
Treatment wetland systems are being used everywhere from the equator to the arctic to solve a variety of industrial wastewater challenges in addition to remediation of petroleum hydrocarbon contaminated sites. Because treatment wetland systems can be constructed using local materials, there is no economic barrier to their implementation and they offer a low carbon footprint as compared to conventional mechanical treatment systems.
