22. Pump and Treat

Another keyword: pumping and treatment

The literal translation of pump and treat is to pump water from the ground (the water table) and treat it on the surface. In reality, it simply means pumping out the polluted water. Treatment is unspecified and can range from simple discharge into the sewer system to incineration. Pump-and-treat was widely used before in situ techniques became more efficient. This technique often takes a long time (sometimes several years) due to the interactions between the pollutant and the aquifer. It is still frequently used.

• Principle

  Pump and treat is an in-situ (pumping) and ex-situ (treatment) process (figure 22 ). This technique extracts, in solution in water, pollutants (organic...