Soil pollution is becoming a significant problem in this country. In numerous locations around the country, hazardous wastes, such as MTBE's, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), poisons and other chemicals have been inadvertently released, thereby contaminating the surrounding soil. Such soil contamination can be caused, for example, by leaking underground storage tank sites (LUST sites). The hazardous waste may leak through the soil, eventually contaminating water supplies.
Cleaning up contaminated soil is both difficult and costly. Typically, the owner of a site containing contaminated soil is responsible for this soil. However, because there is no cost effective manner of cleaning the soil, the owners of contaminated soil typically pay to have the soil removed and stored at a remote location. One such location is the Kettleman Hazardous Waste Landfill, located near Fresno, Calif. The cost for removing and storing contaminated soil is typically about $65/cubic yard.
It would therefore be desirable to have a cost efficient method and apparatus for cleaning contaminated soil. It would further be desirable if this method and apparatus were portable, such that contaminated soil could be de-contaminated on-site, without requiring that the contaminated soil be transported a significant distance.
In addition, it would be desirable to have a vapor generator capable of efficiently generating high-temperature water vapor for a multitude of uses including, but not limited to: de-contamination, in-situ heating of oil reserves to facilitate pumping, food preparation, cleaning and disinfecting, snow and ice removal, desalinization of sea water, generation of electricity, drying and curing, space heating and humidification, and the conversion of organic waste to other products.