FAQs

BOS 100® is an innovative in situ remediation solution that dechlorinates contaminants safely and efficiently, without creating harmful degradation products. This proprietary Trap & Treat® technology is a leading choice for contaminated soil remediation and groundwater treatment. A specialized manufacturing process creates activated carbon with structurally integrated zero-valent iron (ZVI), delivering performance that surpasses all ZVI formulations.

An activated carbon platform instantly adsorbs chlorinated solvents from the subsurface, securing them in place and preventing further migration, while the structurally integrated metallic iron breaks down the trapped compounds through reductive dechlorination.

BOS 100® SDS

BOS 100® is specifically designed for halogenated solvents, including trichloroethylene (TCE), tetrachloroethylene (PCE), and related chlorinated volatile organic compounds (CVOCs). It can be applied to DNAPL source areas and dissolved-phase plumes.

While every site is unique, BOS 100® drives a rapid initial reduction in dissolved contaminant concentrations, achieving measurable improvement faster than conventional approaches. The material also remains reactive for an extended period—some sites continue to see active contaminant reduction for more than a decade after installation—allowing BOS 100® to address back-diffusion long after most in situ remedies are exhausted. This longevity shortens the path to regulatory closure and reduces long-term monitoring burden, but exact timelines depend on site conditions and contaminant load.

Yes, BOS 100® is manufactured from food-grade materials that are safe and nontoxic. BOS 100® does not introduce additional contaminants into groundwater during treatment. The end products are harmless compounds such as CO2, ethene, and water.

Activated carbon provides the foundational component across the Trap & Treat® products. The high-quality activated carbon adsorbs and immobilizes contaminants on contact, preventing further migration and cutting off risk pathways. Activated carbon’s large surface area (1625 m2/gram) provides a platform for chemical and biological degradation.

A remediation-specific site investigation is usually the first step before injection. Soil and groundwater samples show the horizontal extent of contamination and give an idea of at what depths and in what amount the products will need to be injected vertically.

Typically, a 10,000-square-foot “plume” (the horizontal footprint of the contamination) would require approximately 100 injection locations. At each injection location, several Trap & Treat® slurry injections are installed vertically to depths prescribed by the site investigation (e.g. 10 feet, 12 feet, 14 feet, etc.).

Most injections are done with a direct push rig, mixing tank, and a pressure pump. Direct push rigs hammer small diameter pipes into the ground. These pipes serve as conduits for the precise injection of the Trap & Treat® product at pre-prescribed depths.

A number of environmental contractors have started using our products for source mitigation. Once excavation of contaminated soils has been performed, Trap & Treat® products are used to line the bottom of the excavation before it is backfilled. This practice remediates any residual contamination remaining after the excavation and serves as a kind of “remediation insurance policy” against future contamination.

Yes, RPI® has successfully applied BOS 100® in bedrock using specialized techniques including pre-drill/DPT hybrids, angled boreholes, and permeable reactive barrier (PRB) configurations to reach depth, bypass refusal, and treat fracture networks. Field results document high-percent destruction of chlorinated solvents at depth with sustained multi-year performance.

BOS 100® combines fast, in situ adsorption with powerful reductive chemistry to accelerate DNAPL remediation while controlling mass diffusion. The activated carbon adsorbs chlorinated solvents at capture, while structurally integrated metallic iron drives reductive dechlorination on the internal carbon surface, producing only harmless end products like ethene, ethane, and chloride.

Remediation can be expensive…when it doesn’t work. Though BOS 100® injections may cost more for the initial application than other in situ remedies, the cost can easily be justified by the results. Unlike other products, which often require numerous applications and don’t ever achieve their goal, BOS 100® can completely remediate the site in question…and that can be a real bargain to consumers who are able to comply with regulations and sell their land quickly and easily.

Yes. In situ remediation is minimally invasive and doesn’t require excavation or extensive surface infrastructure. This makes it ideal for active sites with limited access and for large-scale sites where operational continuity is critical. The approach treats contamination without halting day-to-day business activities.

In situ remediation is minimally invasive with no excavation required, faster than conventional methods, more sustainable with no harmful daughter products, and cost-effective with lower long-term monitoring and operational costs. It targets the source zone directly, enabling rapid and thorough cleanup without halting site operations.

BOS 200® is engineered specifically for petroleum hydrocarbon remediation rather than chlorinated solvents. It combines activated carbon with nutrients, electron acceptors, and facultative organisms to accelerate biodegradation within the carbon’s pore structure. Unlike BOS 100®’s chemical reduction, BOS 200® uses biological degradation and thrives in both aerobic and anaerobic conditions.

BOS 200® SDS

BOS 200® can “trap” anything its activated carbon base can adsorb. The purpose of the product is to adsorb and retard the dispersion of petroleum-based chemicals, most notably gasoline, kerosene, jet fuels, and diesel. While the activated carbon base can adsorb a wide range of organics, the biodegradation component (“Treat”) is more narrowly tailored to these petroleum hydrocarbons specifically.

If you have a contaminant you’d like RPI® to examine to determine whether BOS 200® or another RPI product is suitable, please contact us.

BOS 200® injections are very cost-competitive with other in situ remedies. In fact, after fourteen years and counting, more than 95% of first-time BOS 200® customers continue to use the product at additional sites.

BOS 200® and BOS 200+® thrive in both aerobic and anaerobic conditions and remain active even in high-salinity and high-TDS (total dissolved solids) environments. This broad environmental compatibility makes them suitable for a wide range of site conditions where traditional remediation approaches might fail.

BOS 200+® is an enhanced version of BOS 200® designed for severely impacted sites with heavy hydrocarbon contamination, crude oil, lubricants, and high LNAPL concentrations. It includes an expanded proprietary consortium of facultative microbes, complex carbohydrates, amino acids, and micronutrients to accelerate remediation where standard biological or chemical treatments fall short.

CAT 100 is an innovative environmental remediation product that combines the power of BOS 100®’s contaminant-trapping technology with biotechnology. It’s specifically designed to treat contaminated soil and groundwater, focusing on sites with high concentrations of chlorinated volatile organic compounds (CVOCs). This makes it ideal for projects requiring complex contaminant remediation.

CAT 100’s technology works through a precise, multi-step process:

1. Electron transfer: Contaminants adsorb to activated carbon surfaces, forming an electrical connection throughout the elemental iron and carbon structure.
2. Electron pump—CAT 100 contains complex carbohydrates and peptides that ferment slowly, creating a steady supply of electrons. This electron pump fuels the conductive network, driving ongoing degradation.
3. Catalytic iron support—The metallic iron acts as a catalyst, allowing for more contaminant treatment than traditional iron-based methods.

CAT 100 combines electron conduction, fermentation, and metal catalysis to enable far greater contaminant degradation than traditional iron-based systems. It works in various geological settings including sands, fractured bedrock, and consolidated bedrock that resist standard in situ treatments, reducing the need for excavation or multiple injections.

Trap & Treat® CAT 100 can effectively treat soil and groundwater heavily contaminated with halogenated compounds, complex mixtures of recalcitrant contaminants, CVOCs, pesticides and herbicides.

RPI® uses Remedial Design Characterization (RDC) sampling and high-density conceptual site modeling to map contaminant distribution, identify source zones, and develop precise treatment strategies. This data-driven approach ensures proper product selection, optimal injection patterns, and measurable performance tracking through the RPI® support lab.

RDC is critical for understanding site-specific contamination distribution, identifying source zones, and developing precise treatment strategies. RDC sampling and high-density conceptual site modeling provide the data needed to guide proper product selection, optimal injection patterns, and reliable performance monitoring. RPI® provides no-cost laboratory analysis of RDC samples.

BOS 100® drives degradation of DCE to harmless final products like ethene and CO₂ through reductive dechlorination without relying on narrow geochemical windows. CAT 100 is ideal for sites where DCE has stalled; it adds sustained microbial activity to the abiotic reduction of BOS 100®, enabling complete degradation where traditional methods contribute to formation.

DCE (dichloroethylene) often forms as a daughter product during the breakdown of other chlorinated solvents like TCE and PCE. Even after primary contaminants are treated, DCE can persist, increase in concentration, or proceed to vinyl chloride. In some aquifers it’s resistant to natural degradation, and some traditional remediation methods are actually conducive to DCE formation.

RPI® recommends BOS 200® for standard BTEX cases and BOS 200+® for heavily impacted or complex sites. Both combine activated carbon adsorption with facultative microbes and micronutrients to rapidly degrade benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene compounds under aerobic and anaerobic conditions.

In situ BTEX remediation avoids the infrastructure, maintenance, and high costs of pump-and-treat systems. It targets the source zone directly, remains active for years in the subsurface for sustained treatment, eliminates exposure pathways immediately through activated carbon adsorption, and reduces long-term monitoring requirements—resulting in faster site closure and lower project costs.

DNAPLs (Dense Non-Aqueous Phase Liquids) are heavier than water, so they sink in water. Common DNAPLs are chlorinated solvents (PCE, TCE, TCA), coal tar, and creosote. As DNAPLs sink, they pool in fractures and low-permeability zones in the aquifer and bedrock. DNAPL trapped in such low-permeability zones acts as a long-term source, slowly back-diffusing into flowing groundwater and re-contaminating it even after the accessible/mobile DNAPL has been treated. Pump-and-treat and in-situ chemical oxidation approaches fail to consistently reach DNAPL trapped in fractures/matrix. And when they do perturb trapped DNAPL, the reactive amendment is consumed too quickly to keep pace with a persistent source. This is why BOS 100® and CAT 100 are designed to adsorb contaminants and drive their chemical reduction e.g., dehalogenation, persisting in the subsurface as long as the source does.

PCE is a dense, volatile compound that sinks into soil and groundwater, forming long-lasting contamination plumes and dense non-aqueous phase liquids (DNAPLs). It’s widely used in dry cleaning and degreasing operations, is difficult to remove, and poses serious health risks. Without treatment, PCE becomes more ingrained in the subsurface over time.

TCE is persistent, migrates easily in groundwater, and forms dense non-aqueous phase liquids (DNAPLs) that are difficult to remove. Traditional methods often fail to fully eliminate TCE and can produce secondary contaminants. RPI® products like BOS 100® and CAT 100 trap and permanently degrade TCE on contact without creating harmful byproducts.

VC is one of the most dangerous chlorinated compounds—a known human carcinogen—that can exceed regulatory limits even at low concentrations. It sorbs poorly to soil and aquifer materials, is highly mobile, and thus can spread far beyond its original release point, affecting surrounding properties. Without intervention, VC can persist for decades, creating long-term liability, halting development, and posing serious environmental and health risks.

RPI® uses proven Trap & Treat® technologies with targeted, high-density injection patterns to aggressively treat VC source zones and prevent plume migration. The approach includes comprehensive site characterization, custom remediation planning, precise installation, and ongoing monitoring. The activated carbon platform holds contaminants in place while treatment degrades VC to harmless end products.