Intermediate-scale 2D experimental investigation of in situ chemical oxidation using potassium permanganate for remediation of complex DNAPL source zones

Abstract

In situ chemical oxidation is a technology that has been applied to speed up remediation of a contaminant source zone by inducing increased mass transfer from DNAPL sources into the aqueous phase for subsequent destruction. The DNAPL source zone can consist of one or more individual sources that may be present as an interconnected pool of high saturation, as a region of disconnected ganglia at residual saturation, or as combinations of these two morphologies. Potassium permanganate (KMnO 4) is a commonly employed oxidant that has been shown to rapidly destroy DNAPL compounds like PCE and TCE following second-order kinetics in an aqueous system. During the oxidation of a target DNAPL compound, or naturally occurring reduced species in the subsurface, manganese oxide (MnO 2) solids are produced. Research has shown that these manganese oxide solids may result in permeability reductions in the porous media thus reducing the ability for oxidant to be transported to individual DNAPL sources. It can also occur at the DNAPL–water interface, decreasing contact of the oxidant with the DNAPL. Additionally, MnO 2 formation at the DNAPL–water interface, and/or flow-bypassing as a result of permeability reductions around the source, may alter the mass transfer from the DNAPL into the aqueous phase, potentially diminishing the magnitude of any DNAPL mass depletion rate increase induced by oxidation. An experiment was performed in a two-dimensional (2D) sand-filled tank that included several discrete DNAPL source zones. Spatial and temporal monitoring of aqueous PCE, chloride, and permanganate concentrations was used to relate changes in mass depletion of, and mass flux, from DNAPL residual and pool source zones to chemical oxidation performance and MnO 2 formation. During the experiment, permeability changes were monitored throughout the 2D tank and these were related to MnO 2 deposition as measured through post-oxidation soil coring. Under the conditions of this experiment, MnO 2 formation was found to reduce permeability in and around DNAPL source zones resulting in changes to the overall flow pattern, with the effects depending on source zone configuration. A pool with little or no residual around it, in a relatively homogeneous flow field, appeared to benefit from resulting MnO 2 pore-blocking that substantially reduced mass transfer from the pool even though there was relatively little PCE mass removed from the pool. In contrast, a pool with residual around it (in a more typical heterogeneous flow field) appeared to undergo increased mass transfer as MnO 2 reduced permeability, altering the water flow and increasing the mixing at the DNAPL–water interface. Further, the magnitude of increased PCE mass depletion during oxidation appeared to depend on the PCE source configuration (pool versus ganglia) and decreased as MnO 2 was formed and deposited at the DNAPL–water interface. Overall, the oxidation of PCE mass appeared to be rate-limited by the mass transfer from the DNAPL to aqueous phase.