STRATHAM – Xpert Design and Diagnostics (XDD) has successfully tested a system that promises faster and cheaper cleanup of underground volatile organic compounds.

The Adjustable Depth Air Sparging (ADAS) system, developed by a naval facilities engineer, has wide application potential, including cleanup of underground storage tank leaks and chemical spills.

Air sparging works by injecting air into and around groundwater, using a well as a laboratory. The air vaporizes organic chemicals such as petroleum products and allows them to be captured for treatment to render them non-toxic, either on or off-site.

"With traditional (fixed-depth) air sparging systems, it was hit and miss," said Suzanne Finch, a spokesman for San Diego-based Center for Commercialization of Advanced Technology (CCAT), which partially funded the XDD test under a Navy technology licensing agreement signed by XDD in 2005.

"This is clearly faster and much more efficient, and since it is a matter of getting pollution out of the environment, I always think time is of the essence," Finch said.

XDD co-founder Mike Marley said adjustable-depth air sparging "is an enhancement to the technology that has existed since the early 1990s."

Marley received his undergraduate engineering education in Northern Ireland. XDD is headquartered at 22 Marin Way in Stratham, and operates an Allentown, Pa., office, and a satellite office in Annapolis, Md.

Marley and partner Ed Droste hold a controlling interest in the privately held firm, which has annual revenues of about $7 million.

Adjustability

The ADAS system was developed by engineer Andrew S. Drucker at the Naval Facilities Engineering Service Center, in Port Hueneme, Calif., just north of Los Angeles. Marley and Drucker became acquainted in 1996 through environmental engineering discussions and Superfund research.

In traditional air sparging, if the sparge well doesn't strike the toxic area, the well needs to be completely re-drilled. Newer technology allows for depth adjustments, but only with the use of a drill rig. With the ADAS system, once the well is drilled, the system can be adjusted manually, without the time and expense of having to re-drill the well.

"The primary component of the ADAS technology is the inflatable flow-through air packer," according to a CCAT press release. "The flow-through packer is an innovative device that seals off portions of the air sparge well so that air can be injected into the saturated zone at various depths, depending on the placement of the packer. Once airflow has ceased, the packer will automatically deflate allowing the operator to readjust the device to inject air at a new depth."

In a recent telephone interview, Drucker said the U.S. Navy holds the patent for his work at Naval Facilities Engineering Service Center, which is situated on Naval Base Ventura County.

"The Navy has quite a few sites where this could be applicable as well, since one of our main issues is we handle quite a bit of fuel," he said.

"Once the opportunity arises, XDD would be willing to help clean up Navy sites using the technology," he said.

XDD's Marley said the firm is bidding for Navy work, responding to a Navy Broad Agency Announcement (BAA). "We are submitting an abstract for that BAA and if it is accepted, then Navy project managers would be able to decide whether they would like to consider or use the technology," he said. The proposal was submitted in late March.

"With our private clients, it may be a tool that we have in our toolbox that may be applicable for them," he said.

Plenty of work

Leaking underground storage tanks are a huge national problem. As of September 2005, 117,000 leaks were identified in the country. A U.S. Government Accountability Office report released two months ago estimates it would cost $12 billion in public funds to fully clean up only about 54,000 of the leaks.

"Furthermore, 43 states expect to confirm about 16,700 new releases in the next five years that will require at least some public funds for cleanup," according to the GAO report.

XDD, with its broad background in waste cleanup and national reach, will be well-positioned to benefit from the demand for work.

"We have projects we've done all over the country, Texas, California, Alaska," Marley said.

Marley said XDD's five-year plan envisions growing from 32 current employees to about 80 and adding offices in the Midwest and on the West Coast.

Superfund sites

The ADAS test, conducted at a Superfund site in Burlington County, New Jersey, was overseen by XDD's Allentown office. The site was contaminated with toluene, ethyl benzene and xylene compounds that are harmful to the human nervous system.

Matthew T. Walsh, XDD senior project engineer based in Allentown, said the ADAS test project is nearing completion.

"We have some actual field data, and it's been field-tested and it works as intended," he said, "so we're kind of in the marketing phase and just trying to get the word out."

There is a synergy in some of the benefits, too. While the standard use of air sparging includes building a system to collect and treat contaminated soil or groundwater vapors, in some cases, injecting air alone will be enough to get naturally occurring bacteria to break down the organic chemicals to a non-toxic state, Walsh said.

CCAT spokesman Finch said the agency, which is based at San Diego State University, was delighted with the XDD test. CCAT provided $10,000 in funds for the test, and TechLink of Bozeman, Mont., assisted in the licensing process for XDD to use the Navy's technology. Earlier CCAT had provided $17,000 to help develop the technology.

"We would like to see this system in more Superfund and pollution sites," Finch said. "The advantages are obvious and they've been proven."

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