Laboratory Studies

STAR was conceived in 2004 via a collaboration of combustion and remediation experts at University of Edinburgh and University of Western Ontario. It has been the subject of substantial research since 2005, including numerous proof-of-concept (POC) beaker studies, column experiments, drum experiments, and in situ and ex situ field trials. This research has been supported by more than $1.5M from academic and industrial sources and led to more than 25 publications and conference presentations to date.

Proof-of-Concept (POC) Experiments

  • > 25 successful STAR POC experiments completed
  • Successful STAR remediation of 10 contaminants:
    • Fresh coal tar
    • Field coal tar (2 sites)
    • Crude oil
    • Oil sands
    • Drill cutting mud
    • Mineral oil
    • Trichloroethene/oil (75/25)
    • Dichloroethane/grease (75/25)
    • Dodecane/oil (75/25)
  • Successful STAR remediation in 5 different soils:
    • Fine silt/sand
    • Coarse sand
    • Gravel
    • 2 field soils
  • Successful for NAPL saturations: 5% - 100%

Column Experiments

  • > 40 experiments completed
  • Detailed parameter sensitivity studies on:
    • Oxidant (air) injection rate
    • NAPL saturation
    • Water saturation
    • Soil type
    • Contaminant type
  • Successfully demonstrated:
    • Self-sustaining
    • Self-terminating
    • Propagation rate is controllable
    • STAR can be terminated by operator
    • Robust in the presence of water
    • Successful for both pooled and residual NAPL
    • Emission products primarily H2O, CO2 and CO

Drum Experiments

  • 10 experiments completed
  • Successful STAR treatment of coal tar in coarse sand and gritty oil waste in fill
  • Successfully demonstrated:
    • Minimal energy input required (self-sustainability achieved)
    • STAR process found to be more robust at larger scales (less heat loss to environment)
    • Treated soil passes non-hazardous landfill test (chemical extraction)
    • 2 foot treatment zone treated in approximately 2.5 hrs

Bin Experiments

  • 2 experiments completed
  • Successful STAR treatment of coal tar in coarse sand and gritty oil waste in fill
  • Treatment volume approximately 2.5 m3
  • Concentrations of total petroleum hydrocarbons reduced from 30,000 mg/kg to 10 mg/kg