Autoxidation of trichloroethylene in aqueous solution at groundwater contamination concentrations

Thesis/Dissertation · Sun Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1989

OSTI ID:5672860

Eisenbeis, J J

Trichloroethylene (TCE), a commonly used industrial degreaser and solvent, is one of the most frequently detected contaminants of soils and groundwater. One aspect of the subsurface behavior of TCE involves the types and rates of degradation processes the various phases undergo. While biological degradation of TCE has received much recent attention in the research, very little research has been directed at autoxidation of TCE in dilute aqueous solutions at concentrations typical of subsurface contamination. Dilute aqueous solutions of TCE were examined under laboratory conditions to evaluate the kinetics of aqueous phase autoxidation. The concentrations and temperatures used were within the range of those typically found in contaminated groundwater and soils. Autoxidation was carried out in 44 ml glass reaction vials and the degradation rate was monitored by measuring the loss of TCE by gas chromatography. Results indicated that autoxidation occurred despite the addition of an antioxidant to the pure solvent by the manufacturer. Autoxidation of TCE is suspected to occur via a sequence of free radical reactions. The overall reaction order determined for the sequence was approximately 0.8. The overall reaction was found to proceed at two rates, an initial rate from 0 to 24 hours and a long term rate thereafter. The rate coefficients corresponding to these two rate thereafter. The rate coefficients corresponding to these two reaction rates were approximately 2 and 1 {times} 10{sup {minus}4}mol{sup 0.2}1{sup {minus}0.2}hr{sup {minus}1}, respectively. The rate coefficient and reaction order were used to determine an equation to calculate half life. Solutions of 10 ppb and 1 ppm were calculated to have half lives of approximately 10 days and 25 days, respectively.

• Research Organization: Colorado State Univ., Fort Collins, CO (United States)
• OSTI ID: 5672860
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
540320* -- Environment
Aquatic-- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport-- (1990-)
AQUEOUS SOLUTIONS
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
CHLORINATED ALIPHATIC HYDROCARBONS
CHROMATOGRAPHY
CONTAMINATION
DISPERSIONS
ECOLOGICAL CONCENTRATION
GAS CHROMATOGRAPHY
GROUND WATER
HALOGENATED ALIPHATIC HYDROCARBONS
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
MIXTURES
ORGANIC CHLORINE COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC HALOGEN COMPOUNDS
OXIDATION
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
POLLUTION
SEPARATION PROCESSES
SOLUTIONS
WATER
WATER POLLUTION