Drilling operations for pilot tests at an on-site thermal desorption facility in Machelen
On an assignment for Jan De Nul/Envisan from Hofstade near Aalst, Geosonda carried out drilling and installation works for ISTD at the location of the former factory terrains of Biochim in Machelen.
These works were part of ongoing pilot tests, regarding a remediation of existing pollution at the site.
In a first phase, 36 boreholes were drilled at the installation site of a thermal desorption system with technology from TPS Tech, which included installation of conduction pipes and filters. Specific NSR gas burners are used in this facility, for generating hot air conduction in the system.
In a second phase, 13 boreholes were carried out for the positioning of electrodes and thermocouples, which are required by the Radio Frequency Heating (RFH) system of Ecologia, a company from England. This technology uses electromagnetic energy from the ground for heating, and it won the Brownfield Briefing Award for the best innovative technology in 2009.
In view of the seriousness and the level of contamination, special safety and protective measures had to be taken. Geosonda has already worked several times at the same site in the past, including most recently on an assignment for the study office TEC from Zelzate, where additional examination procedures were carried out.