Experimental and Computational Study of Vaporization of Volatile Organic Compounds

Heated Soil Vapor Extraction (HSVE) is a technology that has been used successfully to clean up subsurface soils at sites containing chlorinated solvents and petroleum hydrocarbons. The costs have been extremely high due to the large amount of energy required to volatilize high molecular weight polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) compounds present in the soil matrix. One remediation contractor states that hydrocarbons are oxidized in situ by achieving temperatures in the >1000 F range near the heaters [1]. A critical question is whether the volatile portion of manufactured gas plant (MGP) hydrocarbons (VOCs) can be stripped out at lower temperatures such that the remaining contaminants will be unavailable for transport or subsequent dissolution into the groundwater. Soil remediation by heated soil vapor extraction system is a relatively new technology developed at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee [2]. The areas around chemical companies or waste disposal sites have been seriously contaminated from the chemicals and other polluting materials that are disposed off. The process developed at UWM, consists of a heater/boiler that pump and circulates hot oil through a pipeline that is enclosed in a larger-diameter pipe. This extraction pipe is vertically installed within the contaminated soil up to a certain depth and is welded at the bottom and capped at the top. The number of heat source pipes and the extraction wells depends on the type of soil, the type of pollutants, moisture content of the soil and the size of the area to be cleaned. The heat source heats the soil, which is transported in the interior part of the soil by means of conduction and convection. This heating of soil results in vaporization of the gases, which are then driven out of the soil by the extraction well. The extraction well consists of the blower which would suck the vaporized gases out of the system. Our previous studies had removed higher boiling compounds such as naphthalene, etc., to non-detectable level. Thus, the current technology is very promising for removing most of the chemicals compounds; and can also remove these high boiling compounds from the saturated zone. Gas chromatography (GC) is utilized in monitoring the relative concentration changes over the extraction period. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GCMS) assists in the identification and separation of extracted components. The experimental research is currently being conducted at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. The objectives of this study are to identify contaminants and time required to remove them through HSVE treatment and provide data for computation fluid dynamics CFD analysis.