BOS 100® – Frequently Asked Questions
How is Trap & Treat® BOS 100® made? What is its chemistry?
How does Trap & Treat® BOS 100® work?
What daughter products, if any, are produced upon injection of BOS 100®?
How are Trap & Treat® products put into the ground?
Is Trap & Treat® BOS 100® expensive to use?
How is Trap & Treat® BOS 100® made? What is its chemistry?
During manufacturing of BOS 100®, granular activated carbon is impregnated with an iron salt and heated to a high temperature to create a highly active, large remediation surface area within the activated carbon granules. It contains approximately six percent (wt) metallic iron in the form of microscopic deposits within the pore network of the activated carbon. BOS 100® works approximately 50 times faster than conventional iron products used for treatment of chlorinated solvents.
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.
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.
Though some carbon particles may show up in wells for several days after treatment, they disappear within a week.
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.