Organochlorine and Hydrocarbon Remediation by Adsorptive and Oxidative Barriers
Geoambiente develops hydrogeological model resulting in cleaner aquifers and safer drinking water
SUSTAINABILITY CHALLENGE
Climate Action & Land and Water Resources
Story Highlights
Relevant UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
SDG Goal 1
No Poverty
End poverty in all its forms everywhere.
SDG Goal 2
Zero Hunger
End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture.
SDG Goal 3
Good Health and Well-Being
Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages.
SDG Goal 4
Quality Education
Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.
SDG Goal 5
Gender Equality
Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.
SDG Goal 6
Clean Water and Sanitation
Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all.
SDG Goal 7
Affordable and Clean Energy
Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all.
SDG Goal 8
Decent Work and Economic Growth
Promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full employment, & decent work for all.
SDG Goal 9
Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization & foster innovation.
SDG Goal 10
Reduced Inequalities
Reduce inequality within and among countries.
SDG Goal 11
Sustainable Cities and Communities
Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.
SDG Goal 12
Responsible Consumption and Production
Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns.
SDG Goal 13
Climate Action
Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts.
SDG Goal 14
Life Below Water
Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development.
SDG Goal 15
Life on Land
Sustainably manage ecosystems, combat desertification, reverse land degradation, & halt biodiversity loss.
SDG Goal 16
Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
Foster peaceful & inclusive societies, ensure justice access, & build effective, accountable institutions at all levels.
SDG Goal 17
Partnerships for the Goals
Strengthen the means of implementation & revitalize the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development.
UTILIZED SOFTWARE
Leapfrog Works
LOCATION
Brazil
ORGANIZATION/COMPANY
Geoambiente S/A
PROJECT SUMMARY
In the late 1970s, a sprawling, 116,000-square-meter industrial complex in Brazil began manufacturing agricultural machinery and vehicles. Decades of machining, tooling, painting, and washing vehicle parts, in addition to other industrial processes, polluted the area with organochlorine and hydrocarbon contaminants. Though these plumes are affecting local aquifers used for obtaining drinking water, the full scope of contamination has never been fully understood. Geoambiente used Leapfrog to develop a hydrogeological model of the entire area, allowing them to estimate with a high degree of certainty the contaminants’ sources and their total masses, as well as mapping entrapment and migration zones. With the knowledge gained from the model, the company placed absorptive barriers in areas with the highest concentration of contaminants. In just six months, Geoambiente’s solution significantly reduced contaminant levels, including a complete elimination of dichloroethylene and vinyl chloride, a 99% reduction in Benzene, and a 72% reduction in trichloroethylene. The result are cleaner aquifers and safer drinking water.