Conductivity reduction due to emulsification during surfactant enhanced-aquifer remediation. 1. Emulsion transport.

Abstract

Surfactant-enhanced aquifer remediation (SEAR) is a promising technology for the remediation of subsurface zones contaminated with organic liquids. To ensure the success of SEAR, the potential reduction in hydraulic conductivity must be evaluated. The objective of this study was to examine the process of conductivity reduction due to the transport of an emulsion, generated by mixing tetrachloroethylene with 4% solutions of two nonionic surfactants, in packed beds of sand-sized silica particles. The injection of the emulsion resulted in a 75-85% reduction in conductivity, depending on the properties of the surfactant and the porous medium. The greater viscosity of the emulsion relative to that of water accounted for about 25% of the reduction. The remainder was attributed to the clogging of the porous medium by the emulsion. The relative sizes of the emulsion droplets and the packed bed's pores, coupled with measurements of zeta potential of the emulsion droplets and silica particles, suggested that multilayer deposition was the principal mechanism of clogging. This hypothesis was corroborated by direct observation of the emulsion transport process in a micromodel. To simulate the reduction in hydraulic conductivity in these systems accurately, it was necessary to modify the emulsion transport model by Soo and Radke to include the phenomena of viscosity variation and multilayering.