Researchers in Taiwan performed field trials on the ability of persulfate to remediate trichloroethane (TCE) contaminated groundwater.  The purpose of the field trial was to (1) evaluate the efficacy of TCE treatment using persulfate with different injection strategies; (2) determine the persistence of persulfate in the aquifer; (3) determine the persulfate radius of influence and transport distance; and (4) determine the impact of persulfate on indigenous microorganisms during remediation.

The researchers discovered that persulfate removed up to 100% TCE under specific conditions.  Overall, they found a single, higher does of persulfate was more effective at destroying TCE than two separate, smaller doses.

Results show that sequential injections of a large amount of persulfate are suggested to maintain good long-term performance for TCE treatment. This paper is available at http://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlehtml/2018/ra/c7ra10860e.