Effect of Various Enhanced-Solubilization Agents on Multi-Component Immiscible Liquid Dissolution and Mass Flux in Homogeneous Porous Media
Abstract
Complex multi-component immiscible liquid mixtures can significantly limit the effectiveness of groundwater remediation. The use of enhanced-flushing technologies has emerged as a promising technique for the remediation of sites contaminated with immiscible liquids. An important aspect for the effective remediation of these sites depends on the physical heterogeneity of the subsurface, the related distribution of immiscible liquid present within porous media, and the composition of the immiscible liquid mixture. A series of column experiments was conducted to quantify the effectiveness of four different flushing agents on the removal of a uniformly distributed multi-component immiscible liquid consisting of equal mole fractions of tetrachloroethene (PCE), trichloroethene (TCE), and cis-1,2-dichloroethene (DCE) in homogeneous quartz sand. The solubilization agents investigated included: two complexing sugars, hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HPCD) and methyl-β-cyclodextrin (MCD); one surfactant, sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS); and one cosolvent, ethanol (ETOH). The effectiveness of the flushing agents was evaluated by comparing elution profiles, flushing efficiencies, mass flux behavior, and dissolution ideality (i.e. Raoult’s law prediction) of each component. The results of these experiments indicate that the addition of a chemical flushing agent greatly reduces the time needed to remove each component compared to flushing with water alone (i.e. pump and treat). Although the stronger solubilization-power agents (i.e. SDS and ETOH) showed quicker removal in general, each solubilization agent exhibited unique removal limitations based upon different removal efficiency analyses. For instance, TCE and DCE exhibited relatively ideal dissolution while PCE showed significant nonideal dissolution behavior during flushing with MCD. These findings suggest that the selection of a particular flushing agent should be evaluated carefully prior to remediation as the mass flux and removal behavior of each component will significantly vary depending on the flushing agent itself.
- Publication:
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AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2010
- Bibcode:
- 2010AGUFM.H53C1051T
- Keywords:
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- 1055 GEOCHEMISTRY / Organic and biogenic geochemistry;
- 1831 HYDROLOGY / Groundwater quality;
- 1832 HYDROLOGY / Groundwater transport