Effects of pulsed and oscillatory flow on water vapor removal from a laboratory soil column. Final report, November 1993

Abstract

Subsurface contamination by volatile organic contaminants (VOC`s) in the vadose zone and groundwater is primarily due to leaking underground storage tanks and industrial spills. Soil vapor extraction is a technique that is being used successfully to remove VOC`s from the subsurface. A flow of air is established through the soil to remove the vapor phase component of the contaminant. Soil vapor extraction will initially remove high levels of contaminant that is already present in the macropores. The concentration will start to decline as the removal from the soil matrix becomes limited by diffusion of contaminant from regions away from the air flow paths. This study examines potential methods of overcoming the diffusion limitation by adding an oscillatory component to the steady air flow and by pulsed flow, which involves turning air flow on and off at predetermined intervals. The study considered only the removal of water from the soil to try to establish general vapor behavior in the soil under the imposed conditions. Based on a statistical analysis, both the oscillatory and pulsed flow showed an improved water removal rate over the steady state flow. The effect of oscillatory flow was only examined at higher frequencies. The literature indicates that oscillations at lower frequencies may be more effective. Pulsed flow showed the most efficient removal of water compared to steady state conditions. The pulsed flow was most efficient because rather than reducing the diffusion limitation, the system would shut down and wait for diffusion to occur. This optimizes energy consumption, but does not reduce treatment time. The oscillatory flow actually reduced the diffusion limitation within the column which could result in a shorter treatment time.