Abstract
Abstract Immobilization of light non-aqueous phase liquids (LNAPLs) in porous sediment materials is directly associated with the physicochemical properties of both the sediment materials and the fluids. This study investigated the efficiency of carbonate (calcite) and clay (kaolinite) minerals in immobilizing the migration of LNAPL (e.g. crude-oil and diesel), through a blend of the materials with sand without chemical additives. In this study, BET (Brunauer, Emmett, and Teller) method was used to obtain the surface area of sand, carbonate, and clay materials. Fluid properties (surface tension, and density) were measured with Kruss K11 force tensiometer while viscosity was determined with the Anton Paar MCR 302 Rheometer. Secondly, natural materials known to possess adsorptive capacities were characterized, tested, and compared. In this work, adsorbent-blends were created and mixed with sand material to achieve a comparable textural distribution. From the LNAPL migration experiment, both Adsorbent and Cl-Adsorbent showed high adsorptive efficiency for crude-oil and diesel, respectively. In comparison, Absorbent-1&2 exhibited stronger adsorption than Cl-Adsorbent1&2 under same conditions. The results demonstrate that Adsorbent-1&2 is most efficient in immobilizing LNAPL. Moreover, increasing the weight of adsorbent and combining mineral adsorbents from different materials, significantly reduced LNAPL distribution. Thirdly, a process termed “Vapor Expulsion Technique (VET)”, through which LNAPL-contaminated model-sand was treated with N 2 gas was developed. VET is a method for immobilizing LNAPL subsurface migration in oil-contaminated soil. Based on decrease in LNAPL penetration-depths, the study observed that Adsorbent-2 and the VET yielded 36%, and 64% LNAPL immobilization efficiencies (IE, %), respectively.
Published Version
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