A thermal blanket is a device used in in-situ thermal desorption (ISTD) to clean large area soil contamination. The primary function of a thermal blanket is to heat the soil to the boiling point of the contaminants (usually 800 to 1,000°C). The contaminants break down. A vacuum pulls the resulting gas (along with some contaminants) into a separate air cleaner that may use various methods, such as carbon filters and high-heat ovens, to completely destroy the contaminants.
Deep contaminations are handled using a similar method with a deep penetrating heat source. This is commonly referred to as an ISTD thermal well.
Famous quotes containing the word blanket:
“Three forms I see on stretchers lying, brought out there untended
lying,
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Gray and heavy blanket, folding, covering all.”
—Walt Whitman (18191892)