Organic vapor fluxes through the vadose zone
Conference
·
OSTI ID:370273
- Univ. of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA (United States)
- IT Corp., Austin, TX (United States)
- Vanderbilt Univ., Nashville, TN (United States)
Volatilization from shallow ground water followed by air-phase transport through the unsaturated zone is a poorly understood process that may be a significant natural remediation mechanism for volatile organic pollutants including chlorinated solvents and gasoline constituents (e.g., benzene, toluene, etc.). To improve understanding of this process, the upward flux of trichloroethene (TCE) vapor through the unsaturated zone above a contaminated, water-table aquifer at Picatinny Arsenal, New Jersey, has been studied under natural conditions over a 12-mo period. Vertical gas-phase diffusion fluxes were determined indirectly by measuring the TCE vapor concentration gradient in the unsaturated zone and using Fick`s Law to calculate the flux. The total gas-phase flux (e.g., the sum of diffusion and advection fluxes) was measured directly with a vertical flux chamber (VFC). In many cases, the upward TCE vapor flux was several orders of magnitude greater than the upward TCE diffusion flux, suggesting that the vertical transport of TCE vapors by gas advection is significant relative to vertical transport by diffusion. The measured total flux of TCE vapor from the subsurface to the atmosphere is approximately 50 kg/yr and is comparable in magnitude to the removal rate of TCE from the aquifer by an existing pump-and-treat system and by discharge into a nearby stream.
- OSTI ID:
- 370273
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-960376--
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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OSTI ID:7069660