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Related Experiment Videos

Non-aqueous phase liquid spreading during soil vapor extraction.

Timothy J Kneafsey1, James R Hunt

  • 1Earth Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA. tjkneafsey@lbl.gov

Journal of Contaminant Hydrology
|January 22, 2004
PubMed
Summary

Volatile oil spreading at the air-water interface may enhance contaminant recovery by soil vapor extraction (SVE). However, experiments show limited spreading in porous media, suggesting SVE efficiency is unlikely to improve significantly at field scales.

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Area of Science:

  • Environmental Science
  • Geochemistry
  • Soil Science

Background:

  • Non-aqueous phase liquids (NAPLs) can spread at air-water interfaces, potentially increasing mass transfer.
  • This spreading is hypothesized to enhance volatile NAPL recovery via soil vapor extraction (SVE) in the vadose zone.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the extent and impact of volatile oil spreading on SVE efficiency in wet porous media.
  • To evaluate the validity of conceptual models predicting enhanced SVE due to spreading.

Main Methods:

  • Experiments using spreading volatile oils (hexane, heptane) in capillary tubes and porous medium columns.
  • Observation of oil spreading at centimeter scales.
  • Measurement of volatilization and assessment of SVE enhancement.

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Main Results:

  • Observed spreading in capillary tubes and porous media up to centimeters.
  • Spreading in meter-high porous columns was limited (<10 cm).
  • Limited spreading did not significantly enhance hexane volatilization or SVE efficiency at the meter scale.

Conclusions:

  • Water film thinning and oil film pinning may inhibit spreading in porous media.
  • Volatile oil spreading is unlikely to significantly enhance SVE efficiency at field scales.
  • Current conceptual models may overestimate the practical impact of spreading on SVE performance.