Laboratory study of polymer solutions used for mobility control during in situ NAPL recovery
The use of surfactant solutions for the in situ recovery of residual NAPL in aquifers is increasingly considered as a viable remediation technique. The injection of a few pore volumes of high-concentration surfactant solutions can mobilize or solubilize most of the residual NAPL contacted by the solutions. However, the washing solutions` physico-chemical properties (low density and high viscosity), combined with the natural porous media heterogeneity, can prevent a good sweep of the entire contaminated volume. The objective of this laboratory study is first to select and characterize polymers that would be suitable for aquifer restoration. Their experiments showed that among several polymers, xanthan gum is the most suitable for aquifer remediation. An evaluation of xanthan gum solution rheology was made in order to predict shear rates, xanthan gum concentrations, salinity, and temperature effects on solution viscosity. The second set of experiments were made with a sand box which was designed to reproduce a simple heterogeneous media consisting of layers of sand with different permeability. These tests illustrate the xanthan gum solution`s ability to increase surfactant solution`s sweep efficiency and limit viscous fingering.
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- OSTI ID:
- 290229
- Journal Information:
- Ground Water Monitoring and Remediation, Vol. 18, Issue 3; Other Information: PBD: Sum 1998
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Visualization of surfactant enhanced NAPL mobilization and solubilization in a two-dimensional micromodel
Single-phase microemulsification of a complex light-nonaqueous-phase-liquid: Laboratory evaluation of several mixtures of surfactant/alcohol solutions