Demonstration of Surfactant Flooding of an Alluvial Aquifer Contaminated with Dense Nonaqueous Phase Liquid

Brown, Chris; Delshad, Mojdeh; Dwarakanath, Varadarajan; Jackson, Randy; Londergan, John T.; Meinardus, Hans W.; McKinney, Daene C.; Oolman, T.; Pope, Gary A.; Wade, William H.

doi:10.1021/bk-1999-0725.ch006

Cited by 30 publications

(27 citation statements)

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“…Therefore we demonstrate that the removal of 99% of the DNAPL from an aquifer with the permeability structure of the modified Sandia sand tank is possible. This result is consistent with the 98.5% DNAPL recovered during the 1996 pilot surfactant flood at Hill Air Force Base, Utah [Brown et al, 1999;Londergan et al, 2001] from an aquifer/aquitard system similar to this modified sand tank with a more realistic aquitard.…”

Section: Summary Of Simulation Studiessupporting

confidence: 84%

“…This surfactant mixture is much more efficient in solubilizing TCE with a solubility of 250,000 mg/L. The phase behavior for this system has been presented by Brown et al [1999] and Dwarakanath et al [1999]. The measured interfacial tension between TCE and this surfactant solution was approximately 0.01 dyne/cm; the viscosity of this surfactant solution was 2.1 cp.…”

Section: Simulation Of Aerosol Ma Surfactant Flood With Higher Flow Rmentioning

confidence: 93%

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Control of downward migration of dense nonaqueous phase liquid during surfactant flooding by design simulations

Jin

Hirasaki

Jackson³

et al. 2007

Water Resources Research

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[1] Sand tank experiments have been used to study a surfactant-enhanced aquifer remediation (SEAR) process during which downward migration of dense nonaqueous phase liquid (DNAPL) has been observed in some of these experiments. Through numerical simulation of one particular sand tank experiment conducted at Sandia National Laboratories we show in this paper that this downward migration of DNAPL can be anticipated and controlled even in a very difficult geosystem environment. The results indicate that design simulations play a significant role in the design of either laboratory column experiments or field SEAR application and that surfactant flooding can be accomplished without loss of hydraulic control of DNAPL under typical alluvial aquifer/ aquitard conditions and with only minor vertical mobilization within the aquifer (i.e., <1% of the DNAPL present). The design simulations are considered as a sensitivity analysis exercise in which the heterogeneity in the permeability field and DNAPL saturation and other critical variables are varied to produce a robust design. The simulation results indicate that the significant downward mobilization of DNAPL as observed in the Sandia sand tank experiment is a result of the use of high-permeability materials, weak viscous (horizontal) forces, and low surfactant solubilization potential. The downward mobilization of DNAPL is a design issue to be evaluated and controlled rather than an inevitable consequence of the use of surfactants to remove DNAPL.

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Section: Summary Of Simulation Studiessupporting

confidence: 84%

Section: Simulation Of Aerosol Ma Surfactant Flood With Higher Flow Rmentioning

confidence: 93%

Control of downward migration of dense nonaqueous phase liquid during surfactant flooding by design simulations

Jin

Hirasaki

Jackson³

et al. 2007

Water Resources Research

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“…More recently the PITT has been adapted for detection of NAPLs in the subsurface. This method was first applied to the detection of NAPL contamination in the saturated zone and has been demonstrated effective at both laboratory and field scales Brown et al, 1996. The PITT technology has also been applied to the detection of NAPLs in the vadose zone INTERA, 1997).…”

Section: The Partitioning Interwell Tracer Testmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Three field tests were completed at Hill Air Force base Operable Unit 2 to demonstrate the PITT in an alluvial aquifer contaminated by DNAPL (Brown et al, 1996;Brown et al, 1997). Simulations were conducted to determine test design variables such as rates, injected chemical quantities, and test duration and to predict contaminant and injected chemical recovery, degree of hydraulic confinement, and pore volume of the aquifer swept by the test area wells.…”

Section: Otivation and O Bjectivesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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In-situ characterizations of dense non-aqueous phase liquids using partitioning tracers. Annual progress report, September 15, 1996--September 14, 1997

Pope¹,

McKinney²,

Gupta³

et al. 1998

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This paper describes laboratory research conducted to investigate the use of partitioning tracers for the detection, volume estimation, and remediation performance assessment of vadose zones contaminated by nonaqueous phase liquids (NAPLs). These laboratory studies used Ottawa sand and field soil packed columns. The columns were saturated, then reduced to residual saturations of water and NAPL, creating a three phase system of air, water, and NAPL.Conservative and partitioning gas tracers were injected into the column and their elutions were analyzed. The method of moments was used to estimate partition coefficients between the air and NAPL phases for each of the tracers. The partition coefficients and retardation factors are used to select appropriate tracers for NAPL detection and volume estimation in the field. This research identified several perfluorocarbon tracers suitable for use in the field and demonstrated the feasibility of using partitioning tracers as a tool for NAPL detection and volume estimation in the vadose zone. INTRODUCTIONA widespread and recurring public health problem identified in recent years is the contamination of the subsurface by nonaqueous-phase liquids (NAPLs) (NRC 1994).Contamination at numerous private, government, and industrial facilities is well-documented and is clearly a problem for communities and populations located near these sites.1 Nonaqueous-phase liquid contamination of the subsurface occurs as NAPLs migrate from the surface, where in the past they were typically disposed in unlined pits, through the vadose zone to the water table. The migration of the NAPL though the vadose zone leaves a trail or streak of NAPL held in the pore space by capillary forces and is defined as residual or immobile NAPL.As water percolates through a contaminated vadose zone, NAPLs and other contaminants dissolve in the mobile water and may be carried to the saturated zone as dissolved constituents. Previously clean aquifers may receive harmful doses of pollutants without the bulk of the contaminants ever reaching the saturated zone.In many cases, because of the potential adverse impact of vadose-zone contamination on water supplies, remediation of the vadose zone may be essential. However, to design an effective remediation of an area, a detailed description of the site is necessary. Thus, the first step in site remediation is characterization. Two current methods using core sampling or cone penetrometer testing, which depend upon laboratory analysis, are time-consuming and expensive. To improve the site characterization process, better methods of detecting NAPLs are necessary (EPA 1992).A potentially better characterization method utilizes a technology developed in the petroleum industry. This technology is the partitioning inter-well tracer test (PITT). Partitioning, both single-well and interwell, tracer tests have been used for years to character& liquid residuals in oil-and gas-saturated reservoirs (Cooke 1971, Deans 1971, Allison et al. 1991, Tang and Harker 1991a. In a PITT...

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Surfactant Technologies for Remediation of Oil Spills

Acosta¹,

Quraishi²

2014

Oil Spill Remediation

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Demonstration of Surfactant Flooding of an Alluvial Aquifer Contaminated with Dense Nonaqueous Phase Liquid

Cited by 30 publications

References 0 publications

Control of downward migration of dense nonaqueous phase liquid during surfactant flooding by design simulations

Control of downward migration of dense nonaqueous phase liquid during surfactant flooding by design simulations

In-situ characterizations of dense non-aqueous phase liquids using partitioning tracers. Annual progress report, September 15, 1996--September 14, 1997

Surfactant Technologies for Remediation of Oil Spills

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