Giancarlo Flores

Column test-based optimization of the permeable reactive barrier (PRB) technique for remediating groundwater contaminated by landfill leachates.

We investigated the optimum composition of permeable reactive barrier (PRB) materials for remediating groundwater heavily contaminated by landfill leachate, in column tests using various mixtures of zero-valent iron (ZVI), zeolite (Zeo) and activated carbon (AC) with 0.01-0.25, 3.0-5.0 and 0.7-1.0mm grain sizes, respectively. The main contributors to the removal of organic/inorganic contaminants were ZVI and AC, and the optimum weight ratio of the three PRB materials for removing the contaminants and maintaining adequate hydraulic conductivity was found to be 5:1:4. Average reductions in chemical oxygen demand (COD) and contents of total nitrogen (TN), ammonium, Ni, Pb and 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from test samples using this mixture were 55.8%, 70.8%, 89.2%, 70.7%, 92.7% and 94.2%, respectively. We also developed a systematic method for estimating the minimum required thickness and longevity of the PRB materials. A ≥ 309.6 cm layer with the optimum composition is needed for satisfactory longevity, defined here as meeting the Grade III criteria (the Chinese National Bureau of Standards: GB/T14848/93) for in situ treatment of the sampled groundwater for ≥ 10 years.

Effects of water table fluctuation on diesel fuel migration in one-dimensional laboratory study

The effects of water table fluctuation on diesel fuel redistribution in unsaturated soil are investigated in the laboratory by one-dimensional column test. The simplified image analysis method is used to assess the saturation distributions of water and diesel in the flow domain under transient condition. The experiments are undertaken on two homogeneous sands to study the effects of different particle sizes. The two-phase experimental data illustrate soil–liquid characteristic curves (SLCCs) of water/air and diesel/air systems. The SLCCs of diesel/water systems can be predicted by scaling procedure. A descending order of matric suction at a given saturation of wetting phase is in the order of air/water, diesel/water and air/diesel systems. Coarser particle size gives smaller entry pressure, residual matric suction and residual degree of saturation. The three-phase (air/water/diesel) experimental data illustrate that, during imbibition stages, air and diesel are entrapped below water table with the entrapped air saturations of 18–24% and entrapped diesel saturations of 6–10% for fine sand. Coarser particle size yields smaller entrapped diesel saturations and larger entrapped air saturations. The residual diesel saturations during drainage stages and entrapped diesel saturations during imbibition stages do not show any systematic difference as these stages are repeated. During imbibition stages, 37–47% of the total amount of diesel fuel is entrapped under the water table. Also, there is no systematic difference in the amount of diesel fuel entrapped under the water table when imbibition stages are repeated.