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Title: Field Measurements of Electro-osmotic Transport of Ground Water Contaminants in a Lithologically Heterogeneous Alluvial-Fan Setting

Technical Report ·
DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/15006202· OSTI ID:15006202

Remediation of contaminated ground water by pump-and-treat approaches is often problematic because the heterogeneous distributions of lithologies, and hence hydraulic conductivities, characterizing many aquifers result in complex flow paths. Consequently, contaminants are removed readily from the most permeable regions of the subsurface but the less permeable sediments, rich in clay and silt, remain largely undisturbed. These continue to act as diffusion-limited sources for further contamination of the permeable sediments. Under certain circumstances, specialized technologies, such as electrokinetic approaches, may be useful for enhancing the removal of ground water from low-permeability sediments. These circumstances generally include high contaminant concentrations--hence posing a chronic source threat--and a relatively small area requiring treatment. At Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) in Livermore, California, electro-osmosis (EO) is being evaluated as a means for extracting ground water containing trichloroethylene (TCE) and other chlorinated hydrocarbons from fine-grained sediments in a plume source area.

Research Organization:
Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
US Department of Energy (US)
DOE Contract Number:
W-7405-ENG-48
OSTI ID:
15006202
Report Number(s):
UCRL-ID-144879; TRN: US200405%%338
Resource Relation:
Other Information: PBD: 31 Jul 2001
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English