Experimental demonstration of contaminant removal from fractured rock by boiling

This study was conducted to experimentally demonstrate removal of a chlorinated volatile organic compound from fractured rock by boiling. A Berea sandstone core was contaminated by injecting water containing dissolved 1,2-DCA (253 mg/L) and sodium bromide (144 mg/L). During heating, the core was sealed except for one end, which was open to the atmosphere to simulate an open fracture. A temperature gradient toward the outlet was observed when boiling occurred in the core. This indicates that steam was generated and a pressure gradient developed toward the outlet, pushing steam vapor and liquid water toward the outlet. As boiling occurred, the concentration of 1,2-DCA in the condensed effluent peaked up to 6.1 times higher than the injected concentration. When 38% of the pore volume of condensate was produced, essentially 100% of the 1,2-DCA was recovered. Nonvolatile bromide concentration in the condensate was used as an indicator of the produced steam quality (vapor mass fraction) because it can only be removed as a solute, and not as a vapor. A higher produced steam quality corresponds to more concentrated 1,2-DCA removal from the core, demonstrating that the chlorinated volatile compound is primarily removed by partitioning into vapor phase flow. This study has experimentally demonstrated that boiling is an effective mechanism for CVOC removal from the rock matrix.