Key Technical Advantages

Uniform distribution is the most critical aspect of installation, particularly when placing adsorptive material. Because contaminants in pore water need sufficient contact time with the amendment material in order to be adsorbed, it is essential for it to be evenly distributed, both vertically and horizontally.

AquaBlok, Ltd.’s stone core design gives it a unique ability to evenly distribute through a water column in a single lift. This has been proven at large-scale sites. Examination of as-placed capping material from multiple sites provides strong visual evidence of uniform distribution of amendments through the design layer thickness.

A wide range of construction methods (e.g. stone slingers, manual spreading, telebelts, barge-based application, etc.) can be used to place AquaBlok® and AquaGate®+ materials.

Particle size matters. Use of granular amendment materials can, for example, result in significant non-uniformity of material placement. Because of powdered materials’ faster adsorption (kinetics) and higher capacity (equilibrium), it reduces risk over granular material.

Powdered activated carbon (PAC), for example, has up to three times more adsorption capacity than granular activated carbon (GAC). PAC has been proven to have higher adsorption efficiency in both capacity and velocity of the adsorption. In a study of granular vs. powdered activated carbon for the removal of PFOS and PFOA, PAC led to a higher reduction of the contaminants than GAC due to its greater surface area and shorter internal diffusion distances.

AquaBlok, Ltd. has a laboratory facility and equipment to perform a wide range of testing and quality assurance and control both in-house and on-site throughout the course of the project

During pre-production, raw material testing is performed or obtained in order to confirm expected material properties. During manufacturing, sampling plans are created and customized to meet specific project requirements, fostering statistical confidence in the data generated. AquaBlok, Ltd. ensures everything leaving the manufacturing site meets the specifications for the project

AquaBlok, Ltd. confirms uniform placement of materials using cores, weighted buckets, or trays that are lowered to the sediment surface prior to installation and retrieved post-installation.

Buckets or trays retrieved from project sites can be shipped to AquaBlok, Ltd.’s in-house laboratory for post-placement quality control processing.

AquaBlok, Ltd. customizes post-placements quality control programs to meet specific product and project requirements and to ensure that installed material properties met the project objectives and modeling assumptions