FRACTURE ENHANCED SOIL VAPOR EXTRACTION TECHNOLOGY DEMONSTRATION AT THE A-014 OUTFALL
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Data collected during this study show that the performance of hydraulically fractured wells (with respect to mass removal rates) may tend to decrease with time following precipitation events. These effects are due to temporary increases in water saturation in the formation within the vicinity of the fractures, therefore, the wells should tend to rebound during subsequent dry periods. The data available for fractured well versus conventional well performance (with respect to flow rate versus vacuum pressure) are limited in this study. However, the data that we have to draw from suggest that, with the possible exception of a few extreme examples, hydraulically fractured wells tend to perform better than conventional wells during soil vapor extraction (SVE) operation at the A-14 Outfall. The pancake like geometry associated with hydraulic fractures also leads to a significant increase in zone of influence (ZOI), as compared to conventional wells. The increase in ZOI is due to the radially extending, horizontal, high-permeability conduit nature of the hydraulic fracture, however, air-flow into the fracture is predominately vertical (occurring at right angles to the fracture plane). Flow rates from above and below the fracture will tend to be equivalent when the formation is homogeneous, however, in the case of directionally fining depositional sequences flow rates will be greater from the direction of increasing permeability. The Upland Unit is a fining upward sequence, therefore flow rates (and contaminant mass flow rates) will tend to be higher below the fracture. This suggests that emplacing the fractures slightly above the source zone is an important strategy for accelerating contaminant removal at the A-014 Outfall site and in the Upland Unit at the SRS. However, due to the multitude of previous borings at the A-014 Outfall site, the shallower fractures failed. More than 2500 lbs of chlorinated volatile organic compounds (cVOCs) were removed during approximately 6 months of fractured well SVE operation at the A-014 field site. Plotting total mass removed over this time period shows a roughly linear relationship Figure 7. This occurs because the mass removal rate remains fairly constant with time. When mass removal comes predominately from cVOCs stored in the vapor phase there is a marked decline in mass removal rate over a short period of time due to the limiting nature of diffusion. Constant mass removal rates suggest that a source zone has been directly targeted and, therefore, is providing a constant supply of cVOC that partitions into the vapor phase and is removed through the well. Directly targeting and removing source zones is the most efficient approach to remediating contaminated sites. Results of this study show that utilization of hydraulic fractures during SVE is an effective approach for increasing remediation efficiency at the A-014 Outfall field site and in the Upland Unit at the SRS. Hydraulically fractured wells tend to produce greater flow rates and create larger ZOI's than do conventional wells. These attributes allow fractured wells to effectively treat larger volumes of formation. The unique sand-emplacement geometry associated with hydraulically fractured wells also allows direct targeting of multiple zones located at similar elevations within a fairly large radius of the well. The ability to directly target source zones significantly decreases diffusion pathways, therefore, significantly decreasing the time required to reach remediation goals.
- Research Organization:
- Savannah River Site (SRS), Aiken, SC (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- DE-AC09-96SR18500
- OSTI ID:
- 925574
- Report Number(s):
- WSRC-STI-2008-00141; TRN: US200807%%415
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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