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What's New
Article Archive List
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Fish passage project wins ACEC Grand Award (April 2008)
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Project wins awards for innovation and improved efficiency (2007)
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Hibbing Office Relocates (October
2007)
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Minnesota Pollution Control Agency Commissioner Brad Moore
Spoke at Barr (June
2007)
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Coal Drying at Power Plant Improves Boiler Efficiency, Reduces
Air Emissions (June
2007)
Project wins awards for innovation and
improved efficiency
"Power wick"
results in 200-percent improvement in petroleum removal from
groundwater
An innovative petroleum-recovery system
for Flint Hills Resources LP (FHR) has been named a 2007
Grand Award winner by the Minnesota Chapter of the American
Council and a 2007 Seven Wonders of Engineering winner by
the Minnesota Society of Professional Engineers.
 Working with the Minnesota Pollution Control
Agency, FHR developed a plan to clean up its St. Paul
fuel-distribution terminal to allow redevelopment of the
surrounding area and to protect human health and the
environment. The site had operated for 48 years, and petroleum
had impacted soil and groundwater in the fuel-distribution area
and barge-loading area on the Mississippi River.
For the former fuel-distribution area, Barr
designed and installed a system of soil-vapor-extraction and
recovery wells. The system was successful but, like most
petroleum-removal efforts, it left a thin layer of undissolved
petroleum on top of the groundwater table.
To remove this layer, Barr developed an
innovative system using a wicking material that sheds water and
absorbs petroleum. Lowered inside a small pipe connected to a
high-velocity vacuum system, the wicking material absorbs the
petroleum, which the vacuum removes as vapor. The result—a 200
percent improvement in the petroleum-mass-removal rate.
Undissolved petroleum is now at
non-detectable levels at the site. As a result, redevelopment is
proceeding, with plans to transform the former fuel-terminal
area into a green space beside the river that area residents can
enjoy. A patent is pending on the company’s innovative coupling
of two traditional techniques, and the system is being used
successfully at other sites.
For more information on this technology,
contact Brian Sillanpaa at 800-632-2277.
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