New Environmentally Friendly Technology Drops Out Heavy Metals and Other Contaminants from Coal Tar By Michael Smallwood, Planet Resource Recovery, Inc.
Editor’s Note: We are printing this article on a new soil remediation technique as a means of broadening the scope of information found in American Coal. ACC member companies may also find a use for this technology when addressing legacy sites on or near their operations, or when dealing with soil clean up and remediation in their operations.
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or almost two centuries, manufactured gas plants have provided light to America’s cities. These plants used petroleum or coal to generate gas that then lighted homes and businesses, hospitals, streets, military bases and government offices. By the time they were supplanted by newer technology there were an estimated 50,000 or more of these plants, both public and private. One of the byproducts of manufactured american coal council
gas was coal tar – a heavy oil substance that was typically dumped, pooled or spilled in the plant yard. Poor containment and disposal resulted in contaminated soil and a threat to the groundwater. Remediation efforts have been undertaken at some sites but are hampered by the cost and logistics involved. New technology now promises to reduce the cost and time involved by enabling on-site treatment and decontamination of the original soil.
The Rise and Fall of Manufactured Gas In the early 1800s, manufactured gas plants began providing light to residences, streets and businesses. These plants, built in every major city in the U.S., heated coal or petroleum in an oxygen-deprived process that generated gas to be piped to 61