Application of Foams as a Remediation and Blocking Agent

Abstract

Foam consists of a mixture of water loaded with surfactant and gas. Injected into the porous medium, foam has many useful properties for soil remediation. The properties of surfactants facilitate the mobilization of pollutants, and the presence of gas greatly reduces the consumption of reagents but also makes it possible to block the passage of water. The foam rheology also leads to specific effects such as the stabilization of the front. This chapter first describes the characteristics of the foam in air and then in the porous medium. Subsequently, a review of the literature on the experiments carried out in the laboratory makes it possible to highlight all the effects of the foam. The following section is devoted to rare foam injection experiments carried out in a real environment. Finally, a section is devoted to the modeling of foam displacement in a porous medium.