Cyclodextrin‐Enhanced Vertical Flushing of a Trichloroethene Contaminated Aquifer

Abstract

AbstractPilot‐scale testing of an innovative ground water remediation technology was conducted in a source zone of a trichloroethene‐contaminated Superfund site in Tucson, Arizona. The technology is designed to enhance the removal of low‐solubility organic contaminants from heterogeneous sedimentary aquifers by using a dual‐screened vertical circulation well to inject and extract solutions containing a complexing sugar (hydroxypropyl‐beta‐cyclodextrin (HPCD]). Prior to initiating the pilot test, tracer tests were conducted to determine hydraulic characteristics of the vertical flow field and to evaluate trichloroethene‐elution behavior during water flushing. The pilot test involved injecting approximately 4 m3 of a 20% HPCD solution into the upper screened interval of the well and extracting from the lower screened interval. The results of the pilot test indicate that the cyclodextrin solution increased the rate of trichloroethene removal from the aquifer. The concentrations of trichloroethene in the ground water extracted from the lower screened interval of the well increased by a factor of three (∼750 μg/L) in the presence of the cyclodextrin pulse, compared to concentrations obtained during previous water flushing (∼250 μg/L). Furthermore, the concentration of trichloroethene in water collected from the circulation well under static conditions was reduced to 6% of the levels measured prior to the test.