Abiotic Degradation Rates for Carbon Tetrachloride and Chloroform: Progress in FY 2010

Technical Report · Wed Dec 08 00:00:00 EST 2010

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/1000817· OSTI ID:1000817

Amonette, James E; Jeffers, Peter M; Qafoku, Odeta; Russell, Colleen K; Humphrys, Daniel R; Wietsma, Thomas W; Truex, Michael J

This report documents the progress made through FY 2010 on a project initiated in FY 2006 to help address uncertainties related to the rates of hydrolysis in groundwater at the Hanford Site for carbon tetrachloride (CT) and chloroform (CF). The study also explores the possible effects of contact with minerals and sediment (i.e., heterogeneous hydrolysis) on these rates. The research was initiated to decrease the uncertainties in abiotic degradation rates of CT and chloroform CF associated with temperature and possible heterogeneous effects. After 2 years of data collection, the first evidence for heterogeneous effects was identified for hydrolysis of CT, and preliminary evidence for the effects of different mineral types on CF hydrolysis rates also was reported. The CT data showed no difference among mineral types, whereas significant differences were seen in the CF results, perhaps due to the fact that CF hydrolyzes by both neutral and base-catalyzed mechanisms whereas CT follows only the neutral hydrolysis path. In this report, we review the project objectives, organization, and technical approaches taken, update the status and results of the hydrolysis-rate experiments after 4 years of experimentation (i.e., through FY 2010), and provide a brief discussion of how these results add to scientific understanding of the behavior of the CT/CF plume at the Hanford Site.

• Research Organization: Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States). Environmental Molecular Sciences Lab. (EMSL)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-76RL01830
• OSTI ID: 1000817
• Report Number(s): PNNL-20044; 16898; 25679; 25679a; 3474; 42490; 4390; 830403000; TRN: US1100195
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE WASTES, AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
58 GEOSCIENCES
CARBON TETRACHLORIDE
CHLOROFORM
HETEROGENEOUS EFFECTS
HYDROLYSIS
GROUND WATER
HANFORD RESERVATION
GEOCHEMISTRY
CHEMICAL REACTION KINETICS
carbon tetrachloride
chloroform
hydrolysis
kinetics
rates
abiotic degradation
Hanford
sediment
Henry's Law
Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory