At Nijverheidsstraat 43 in Gavere, a historical soil contamination had occurred with VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds) in the solid part of the soil and groundwater, located at the former knitting factory site.
The contamination was remediated through an excavation down to 6.5 meters below ground level, combined with groundwater lowering and stability measures, specifically a soil mix wall of 95 linear meters and sheet piling.
A slow-release carbon source was applied to the bottom of the excavation to stimulate biological breakdown in the shallow groundwater.
Extracted groundwater was treated through a groundwater purification installation before discharge. The groundwater purification installation had a capacity of 5 cubic meters per hour and comprised:
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Oil-water separator
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Automatic backwashable sand filter
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Stripping tower with two air-side activated carbon filters
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Two water-side activated carbon filters in series.
The contaminated soils were transported to AGRC, Aclagro's soil recycling center in Wondelgem. In total, 7,850 tons of contaminated soil were transported for processing.
After the excavation works, the site was backfilled with fill soil code 211.
