Biopile to Treat Oil-Contaminated Soils: Some Brazilian Experiance

Abstract

Remediation of soils contaminated with petroleum and its products became a major issue in all regions of the world where on-shore and off-shore exploitation, refining transportation and storage of these products are carried out intensively. Many techniques for remediation of contaminated areas have been developed and tested during decades, being bioremediation both in-situ and ex-situ tow of the available options that require further development, which are currently capturing the attention of different sectors involved with the problem in Brazil. This paper presents the historical perspective of the increasing problem that initially appeared in the most traditional industrialized countries and currently has been intensified in countries with growing economy and technological development such as Brazil. Technological options for remediating the areas, variables relevant to the cleaning process, as well as the most recent trends in Brazil regarding the use of different techniques, with focus on biopiles are briefly presented.