Apparatus and method for gas and/or liquid exchange between an area outside and an area inside a bulk material pile

摘要

Gas and/or liquid exchange between an area within a bulk material pile and an area outside the bulk material pile is enabled by establishing a conduit, e.g., a pipe, between the area outside the bulk material pile and the area within the bulk material pile during the formation of the pile and without digging a trench. A porous medium is placed around the conduit in the bulk material pile during formation and without digging a trench to provide for gas and/or liquid exchange between the bulk material and the conduit. The porous medium could be washed stone, or scrap tires and glass bottles. In other embodiments, a conduit is established between the bulk material pile and an area outside the pile, and a leaching chamber is placed over or around the conduit in the pile for gas and/or liquid exchange between the pile and the conduit.