FAQs

How is Trap & Treat® BOS 100® made? What is its chemistry?

BOS 100® is a Trap & Treat® in situ remediation technology specifically designed to degrade chlorinated solvents. It is a unique material manufactured from high grade virgin carbons (intended for use in food or drinking water applications). The food grade carbon is impregnated with metallic iron formed under reducing conditions at a temperature of roughly 850 degrees C. At this temperature, as the metallic iron is formed it partially dissolves into the carbon forming a new and unique material with properties of both the carbon and iron but with capabilities exceeding ZVI in terms of rates of destruction and the range of halogenated compounds it can degrade. As manufactured, the product contains roughly 6.5% (wt) metallic iron. Reaction end products include dissolved iron, chloride, and a series of unregulated gases such as ethylene and methane. The product is insensitive to groundwater geochemistry (e.g. pH, oxidation-reduction potential).

How does Trap & Treat® BOS 100® work?

BOS 100® (for chemical solvent contamination) traps subsurface contamination, soaking it up like a sponge. Once the contaminant is “trapped,” the product “treats” the contaminant and any by-products, quickly degrading them to harmless levels.

BOS 100® SDS

What daughter products, if any, are produced upon injection of BOS 100®?

Daughter products are extremely rare with BOS 100® injections; when they do appear, they do so at very low concentrations and are reabsorbed by BOS 100® over time. The only residual products are harmless concentrations of ethane and/or ethene. Trace amounts of iron oxides, activated carbon granules suitable for treatment of potable water (i.e., similar in size and shape to those found in residential water filters), and less than 150 ppb chloride remain, assuming a 250 ppb initial concentration of PCE. More often than not, aquifers that have undergone a BOS 100® cleanup comply with EPA MCLs for drinking water.

How are Trap & Treat® products put into the ground?

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 would be done at 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.

Is Trap & Treat® BOS 100® expensive to use?

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.

How is Trap & Treat® BOS 200® made? What is its chemistry?

BOS 200® is a Trap & Treat® in situ remediation technology specifically designed to degrade petroleum hydrocarbons, related solvents, and oils. BOS 200® is a complete system effecting accelerated biodegradation of various organic compounds on an activated carbon platform that includes micro and macro nutrients, time release terminal electron acceptors, and a blend of facultative organisms designed to flourish within the aerobic to anaerobic conditions present in the pore structure of the carbon. It has been demonstrated to be effective with LNAPL, fuel oxygenates, alcohols, glycols, and cyclic ethers. No toxic byproducts such as sulfide are produced. The product is insensitive to groundwater geochemistry and is effective under aerobic and anaerobic conditions and over a broad range of pH. High salinity and TDS of 30,000 ppm are also not detrimental to performance.

How does Trap & Treat® BOS 200® work?

BOS 200® (for petroleum contamination) traps subsurface contamination, soaking it up like a sponge. Once the contaminant is “trapped,” the remediation ingredients immediately begin to degrade the contamination. This “treatment” occurs through a biological process that works with or without the presence of subsurface oxygen.

BOS 200® SDS

How are Trap & Treat® products put into the ground?

A remediation-specific site investigation is usually the first step before injection. Soil and groundwater samples show the horizontal extent of contamination and help highlight 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 would be done at 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.

Is Trap & Treat® BOS 200® expensive to use?

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.