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DOES FIELD DATA SHOW DOWNWARD MOBILIZATION OF DNAPL DURING THERMAL REMEDIATION? (ABSTRACT)
Citation:
DAVIS, E. L. DOES FIELD DATA SHOW DOWNWARD MOBILIZATION OF DNAPL DURING THERMAL REMEDIATION? (ABSTRACT). Presented at Battelle's Fifth International Conference on Remediation of Chlorinated and Recalcitrant Compounds, Monterey, CA, May 22 - 25, 2006.
Impact/Purpose:
To inform the public.
Description:
The question of will DNAPLs be mobilized downward during thermal remediation has been asked many times. Indeed, downward mobilization of DNAPLs during steam injection has been observed in the lab. The mechanism for this downward mobilization was the concentration of the contaminant at the steam front in the very uniform sands used for these experiments. The question has been examined theoretically taking into account the temperature-dependence of the physical properties of common contaminants such as PCE and TCE (Heron et al., 1998). Techniques such as creating a hot floor and co-injection of air have been developed to alleviate the potential problem. Downward mobilization in the field is harder to document and to our knowledge has not been observed in the field. In many cases, the depth of the contaminant before remediation may not have been fully determined, making it impossible to determine if thermal remediation caused downward mobilization.