Carl G. Enfield

Field‐scale evaluation of in situ cosolvent flushing for enhanced aquifer remediation

A comprehensive, field-scale evaluation of in situ cosolvent flushing for enhanced remediation of nonaqueous phase liquid (NAPL)-contaminated aquifers was performed in a hydraulically isolated test cell (about 4.3 m × 3.6 m) constructed at a field site at Hill Air Force Base, Utah. This sand-gravel-cobble surficial aquifer, underlain by a deep clay confining unit at about 6 m below ground surface, was contaminated with a multicomponent NAPL as a result of jet fuel and chlorinated solvent disposal during the 1940s and 1950s. The water table within the test cell was raised to create a 1.5 m saturated flow zone that contained the NAPL smear zone. The cosolvent flushing test consisted of pumping about 40,000 L (approximately nine pore volumes) of a ternary cosolvent mixture (70% ethanol, 12% n-pentanol, and 18% water) through the test cell over a period of 10 days, followed by flushing with water for another 20 days. Several methods for assessing site remediation yielded consistent results, indicating that on the average >85% mass of the several target contaminants was removed as a result of the cosolvent flushing; NAPL constituent removal effectiveness was greater (90–99+%) in the upper 1-m zone, in comparison to about 70–80% in the bottom 0.5-m zone near the clay confining unit. Various interacting factors that control the hydrodynamic sweep efficiency, and the NAPL removal effectiveness during cosolvent flushing in this unconfined aquifer are discussed.

A kinetic model for cell density dependent bacterial transport in porous media

A kinetic transport model with the ability to account for variations in cell density of the aqueous and solid phases was developed for bacteria in porous media. Sorption kinetics in the advective-dispersive-sorptive equation was described by assuming that adsorption was proportional to the aqueous cell density and the number of available sites on the solid phase, whereas desorption was proportional to the density of sorbed cells. A numerical solution to the model was tested against laboratory column data, and the performance was compared with that of a two-site model. The kinetic model described the column data as well as the two-site model did, but the highest efficiencies of both models were associated with experiments with the smallest sorption. Furthermore, the kinetic model accounted for cell density dependent sorption, as demonstrated by fair predictions of bacterial transport at one cell density when using parameters obtained at another cell density.

Field test of high molecular weight alcohol flushing for subsurface nonaqueous phase liquid remediation

A pilot scale field test of non-aqueous phase liquid (NAPL) removal using high molecular weight alcohols was conducted at Operable Unit 1, Hill Air Force Base, Utah. Petroleum hydrocarbons and spent solvents were disposed of in chemical disposal pits at this site, and these materials are now present in the subsurface in the form of a light non-aqueous phase liquid (LNAPL). This LNAPL is a complex mixture of aromatic and aliphatic hydrocarbons, chlorinated solvents, and other compounds. The field experiment was performed in a 5 m by 3 m confined test cell, formed by driving interlocking sheet pile walls through the contaminated zone into an underlying clay. The test involved the injection and extraction of about four pore volumes (1 pore volume=7000 L) of a mixture of 80% tert-butanol and 15% n-hexanol. The contaminants were removed by a combination of NAPL mobilization and enhanced dissolution, and the results of postflood soil coring indicate better than 90% removal of the more soluble contaminants (trichloroethane, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylenes, trimethylbenzene, naphthalene) and 70–80% removal of less soluble compounds (decane and undecane). The results of preflood and postflood NAPL partitioning tracer tests show nearly 80% removal of the total NAPL content from the test cell. The field data suggest that a somewhat higher level of removal could be achieved with a longer alcohol injection.

Controlled release, blind test of DNAPL remediation by ethanol flushing

A dense nonaqueous phase liquid (DNAPL) source zone was established within a sheet-pile isolated cell through a controlled release of perchloroethylene (PCE) to evaluate DNAPL remediation by in-situ cosolvent flushing. Ethanol was used as the cosolvent, and the main remedial mechanism was enhanced dissolution based on the phase behavior of the water-ethanol-PCE system. Based on the knowledge of the actual PCE volume introduced into the cell, it was estimated that 83 L of PCE were present at the start of the test. Over a 40-day period, 64% of the PCE was removed by flushing the cell with an alcohol solution of approximately 70% ethanol and 30% water. High removal efficiencies at the end of the test indicated that more PCE could have been removed had it been possible to continue the demonstration. The ethanol solution extracted from the cell was recycled during the test using activated carbon and air stripping treatment. Both of these treatment processes were successful in removing PCE for recycling purposes, with minimal impact on the ethanol content in the treated fluids. Results from pre- and post-flushing partitioning tracer tests overestimated the treatment performance. However, both of these tracer tests missed significant amounts of the PCE present, likely due to inaccessibility of the PCE. The tracer results suggest that some PCE was inaccessible to the ethanol solution which led to the inefficient PCE removal rates observed. The flux-averaged aqueous PCE concentrations measured in the post-flushing tracer test were reduced by a factor of 3 to 4 in the extraction wells that showed the highest PCE removal compared to those concentrations in the pre-flushing tracer test.

Changes in contaminant mass discharge from DNAPL source mass depletion: Evaluation at two field sites

Changes in contaminant fluxes resulting from aggressive remediation of dense nonaqueous phase liquid (DNAPL) source zone were investigated at two sites, one at Hill Air Force Base (AFB), Utah, and the other at Ft. Lewis Military Reservation, Washington. Passive Flux Meters (PFM) and a variation of the Integral Pumping Test (IPT) were used to measure fluxes in ten wells installed along a transect down-gradient of the trichloroethylene (TCE) source zone, and perpendicular to the mean groundwater flow direction. At both sites, groundwater and contaminant fluxes were measured before and after the source-zone treatment. The measured contaminant fluxes (J; ML(-2)T(-1)) were integrated across the well transect to estimate contaminant mass discharge (M(D); MT(-1)) from the source zone. Estimated M(D) before source treatment, based on both PFM and IPT methods, were approximately 76 g/day for TCE at the Hill AFB site; and approximately 640 g/day for TCE, and approximately 206 g/day for cis-dichloroethylene (DCE) at the Ft. Lewis site. TCE flux measurements made 1 year after source treatment at the Hill AFB site decreased to approximately 5 g/day. On the other hand, increased fluxes of DCE, a degradation byproduct of TCE, in tests subsequent to remediation at the Hill AFB site suggest enhanced microbial degradation after surfactant flooding. At the Ft. Lewis site, TCE mass discharge rates subsequent to remediation decreased to approximately 3 g/day for TCE and approximately 3 g/day for DCE approximately 1.8 years after remediation. At both field sites, PFM and IPT approaches provided comparable results for contaminant mass discharge rates, and show significant reductions (>90%) in TCE mass discharge as a result of DNAPL mass depletion from the source zone.

Evaluation of in situ cosolvent flushing dynamics using a network of spatially distributed multilevel samplers

A network of multilevel samplers was used to evaluate the spatial patterns in contaminant extraction during an in situ cosolvent flushing field test. The study was conducted in an isolation test cell installed in a fuel contaminated site at Hill Air Force Base, Utah. Partitioning tracer tests, conducted before and after the cosolvent flush, were used to estimate the spatial distribution of nonaqueous phase liquids (NAPL) and the effectiveness of cosolvent flushing for removing NAPL. Samples collected during the cosolvent flushing test were used to visualize the extraction process. The results of these two analyses showed similar spatial trends in mass removal and were in general agreement with observations based on soil core data. In general, the cosolvents were more effective in the upper portion of the flow domain and had slightly lower mass removal effectiveness in the lower portion of the flow domain. In this region, tracers indicated slower transport rates and higher NAPL saturations. The spatial analysis also indicated that cosolvent was trapped in the capillary fringe increasing the time required to displace the cosolvent from the aquifer. These results demonstrate the value of spatial information for performance assessment and improving in situ flushing design strategies.

Cell density and non-equilibrium sorption effects on bacterial dispersal in groundwater microcosms

The relative importance of dispersion, physical straining, non-equilibrium sorption, and cell density on the dispersal of bacteria was examined in saturated, flow-dynamic sand columns. The bacterial breakthrough as a result of different size distributions of sand particles was followed by measuring the effluent concentration of 3H-adenosine-labelled cells of a Bacillus sp. and an Enterobacter sp. strain suspended in groundwater. The breakthrough curves were compared with theoretical curves predicted from an advective-dispersioe equilibrium sorption model (ADS), an ADS model with a first order sink term for irreversible cell reactions, a two-site model (equilibrium and nonequilibrium sorption sites), and a filtration model. Bacterial sand: water isotherms were linear in the experimental concentration range but had positive intercepts. The partition coefficients ranged from 15 to 0.4 for the Bacillus sp., and 120 to 0.4 for a Pseudomonas sp., and decreased with increasing particle size of the dominant fraction. In a kinetic study, the partition coefficient for the Enterobacter sp. in the smaller particle sand was 63 after one hour, but had decreased to 9 after 19 hours. Bacteria were detected in the effluent after one pore volume, which was earlier than predicted by the sand : water partition coefficients, and displayed an apparent nonequilibrium breakthrough. Dispersion effects and physical straining appeared to be insignificant in the experiments, but tailing of the elution part of the curves indicated slow reversible sorption, and nonequilibrium sorption may have been the main determinant of dispersal retardation. The reversible non-equilibrium sorption invalidated some of the assumptions behind all models except, possibly, the two-site model. Consequently, the models described the large particle sand data better where sorption was of less importance for the dispersal. The dispersal retardation was also affected by the bacterial cell density, both in the pore water and on the sand, suggesting that population characteristics may be an important factor for the bacterial distribution between the water and sand habitats. The retardation factor decreased from 13.7 to 7.8 when the cell density in the loading solution was increased from 3× 108 to 1.2 × 109 cells ml−1. Presaturation of the sand with bacteria had a similar effect.

Landfill leachate effects on sorption of organic micropollutants onto aquifer materials

Abstract The effect of dissolved organic carbon as present in landfill leachate, on the sorption of organic micropollutants in aquifer materials was studied by laboratory batch and column experiments involving 15 non-polar organic chemicals, 5 landfill leachates and 4 aquifer materials of low organic carbon content. The experiments showed that hydrophobic organic micropollutants do partition into dissolved organic carbon found in landfill leachate potentially increasing their mobility. However, landfill leachate interacted with aquifer materials apparently increases the sorbent affinity for the hydrophobic micropollutants. The combination of these two mechanisms affected the observed distribution coefficients within a factor of two, in some cases increasing and in other cases decreasing the sorption of the chemicals. No means for prediction of the effect is currently available, but from a practical point of view, the effect of landfill leachate on retardation of organic micropollutants in aquifer material seems limited.

Validation of two innovative methods to measure contaminant mass flux in groundwater.

The ability to quantify the mass flux of a groundwater contaminant that is leaching from a source area is critical to enable us to: (1) evaluate the risk posed by the contamination source and prioritize cleanup, (2) evaluate the effectiveness of source remediation technologies or natural attenuation processes, and (3) quantify a source term for use in models that may be applied to predict maximum contaminant concentrations in downstream wells. Recently, a number of new methods have been developed and subsequently applied to measure contaminant mass flux in groundwater in the field. However, none of these methods has been validated at larger than the laboratory-scale through a comparison of measured mass flux and a known flux that has been introduced into flowing groundwater. A couple of innovative flux measurement methods, the tandem circulation well (TCW) and modified integral pumping test (MIPT) methods, have recently been proposed. The TCW method can measure mass flux integrated over a large subsurface volume without extracting water. The TCW method may be implemented using two different techniques. One technique, the multi-dipole technique, is relatively simple and inexpensive, only requiring measurement of heads, while the second technique requires conducting a tracer test. The MIPT method is an easily implemented method of obtaining volume-integrated flux measurements. In the current study, flux measurements obtained using these two methods are compared with known mass fluxes in a three-dimensional, artificial aquifer. Experiments in the artificial aquifer show that the TCW multi-dipole and tracer test techniques accurately estimated flux, within 2% and 16%, respectively; although the good results obtained using the multi-dipole technique may be fortuitous. The MIPT method was not as accurate as the TCW method, underestimating flux by as much as 70%. MIPT method inaccuracies may be due to the fact that the method assumptions (two-dimensional steady groundwater flow to fully-screened wells) were not well-approximated. While fluxes measured using the MIPT method were consistently underestimated, the methods simplicity and applicability to the field may compensate for the inaccuracies that were observed in this artificial aquifer test.

Modeling Phosphorus Sorption and Movement in Soils in Relation to Septic Tank Leach Fields

Eutrophication of lakes and streams is a natural process which can be accelerated by the movement of nutrient rich waste-water into waterways. Phosphorus (P) has been identified as the nutrient most likely limiting primary productivity in lakes and streams. A prerequisite to understanding the impact of land application wastewater treatment is an assessment of the inter-action of phosphorus and soil constituents. The nature of phosphosrus soil reactions is complex, as evidenced by the large number of papers in the literature (1) (2).