Hydrocarbon vapor diffusion in intact core sleeves

Technical Report · Fri Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1993

OSTI ID:6240786

Ostendorf, D W; Moyer, E E; Xie, Y; Rajan, R V

The diffusion of 2,2,4-trimethylpentan (TMP) and 2,2,5-trimethylhexane (TMH) vapors out of residually contaminated sandy soil from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) field research site at Traverse City, Michigan, was measured and modeled. The headspace of an intact core sleeve sample was swept with nitrogen gas to simulate the diffusive release of hydrocarbon vapors from residual aviation gasoline in and immediately above the capillary fringe to a soil-venting air flow in the unsaturated zone. The resulting steady-state profile was modeled using existing diffusivity and air porosity estimates in a balance of diffusive flux and a first order source term. The source strength, which was calibrated with the observed flux of 2,2,4-TMP leaving the sleeve, varied with the residual gasoline remaining in the core, but was independent of the headspace sweep flow rate. The finding suggested that lower soil-venting air flow rates were in principle as effective as higher air flow rates in venting LNAPL vapors from contaminated soils.

• Research Organization: Massachusetts Univ., Amherst, MA (United States)
• OSTI ID: 6240786
• Report Number(s): PB-93-181204/XAB; CNN: EPA-R-816821
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

02 PETROLEUM
020900 -- Petroleum-- Environmental Aspects
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
540220* -- Environment
Terrestrial-- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport-- (1990-)
AIR FLOW
ALKANES
CONTAMINATION
CONTROL
DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
DIFFUSION
ELEMENTS
ENVIRONMENTAL TRANSPORT
EVAPORATION
FLOW RATE
FLUID FLOW
FLUIDS
FUELS
GAS FLOW
GASES
GASOLINE
HYDROCARBONS
LAND POLLUTION CONTROL
LIQUID FUELS
LIQUIDS
MAGNETIC FLUX
MASS TRANSFER
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
MICHIGAN
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
NITROGEN
NONMETALS
NORTH AMERICA
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
PENTANE
PETROLEUM PRODUCTS
PHASE TRANSFORMATIONS
POLLUTION CONTROL
POROSITY
REMEDIAL ACTION
RESEARCH PROGRAMS
SAMPLING
SEPARATION EQUIPMENT
SLEEVES
SOILS
US EPA
US ORGANIZATIONS
USA
VAPOR SEPARATORS
VAPORS