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LABORATORY STUDY ON THE USE OF HOT WATER TO RECOVER LIGHT OILY WASTES FROM SANDS
Citation:
DAVIS, E. L. AND B. K. LIEN. LABORATORY STUDY ON THE USE OF HOT WATER TO RECOVER LIGHT OILY WASTES FROM SANDS. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, EPA/600/SR-93/021, 1993.
Impact/Purpose:
publish information
Description:
This laboratory research project investigated the use of hot water to recover oily contaminants that are less dense than water, highly viscous at ambient temperatures, and essentially nonvolatile. Displacement experiments were conducted at constant temperatures in the range from 10 to 50°C, and an increase of approximately 17 to 22 percent in oil recovery was achieved. The major mechanism for the increase recovery appeared to be viscosity reduction. Transient temperature displacement experiments were also performed by placing the oil-saturated column in the incubator at 10°C and using water at 50°C to displace the oil. The oil recovery from these experiments was comparable to that found for a 40°C constant temperature water flood. Capillary pressure-saturation curves and the displacement experiments showed that the residual water saturation increases with temperature, while the residual oil saturation decreases with temperature. Comparison of the capillary pressure for a given wetting phase saturation for different fluid pairs and for different temperatures show that the ratio of interfacial or surface tensions cannot account for changes in the capillary pressure curves as the fluids and temperatures are changed.