Low-Cost Remediation Technologies for Soil Contamination (Early 2000s)

Low-Cost Remediation Technologies for Soil Contamination (Early 2000s)
The background to the emergence in the early 2000s of technologies to clean up soil contaminated with heavy oil at a lower cost than conventional methods was the nationwide emergence of soil contamination problems at former factory sites and construction and demolition sites. However, the conventional agitated cleaning and high-temperature heat treatment methods require large capital investment and treatment costs, making them difficult to implement for small- and medium-sized businesses and local projects. This technology is unique in that it efficiently separates and reduces heavy oil and other oil content by combining chemical treatment and simple physical manipulation, thereby ensuring practicality while reducing the equipment burden. The concept of stepwise purification to the level required for land use conversion, rather than aiming for complete detoxification all at once, matched the needs of redevelopment and site restoration sites. As a result, it was positioned as
a practical technology in the construction and environmental remediation fields, and played a role in moving environmental measures closer from special treatment to normal operations.