Desiccation of Porous Media to Limit Contaminant Migration
EMSL Project ID
24992
Abstract
The primary attribute of soil desiccation is the removal of excess moisture from the subsurface, thereby reducing potential downward migration of water and contaminant solutes within the vadose zone and providing a storage capacity for downward migration induced by surface infiltration of water. In combination with surface flux control, the technique can be used to immobilize contamination by reducing the aqueous phase permeability. The purpose of the proposed research is to improve the understanding of the soil desiccation process, address key technical concerns, and provide data sets to test and verify multiphase simulators. The proposed experiments consist of a series of intermediate-scale column and flow cell experiments, to be conducted in the Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory's (EMSL) Subsurface Flow and Transport Laboratory (SFTL). The SFTL has two recently constructed flow cells that are specifically designed for soil desiccation experiments with either constant temperature or zero energy flux boundary conditions. The SFTL's dual-energy gamma system will be used to determine moisture contents and inserted probes will be used to measure temperature and humidity simultaneously.
Project Details
Project type
Large-Scale EMSL Research
Start Date
2007-06-01
End Date
2010-09-30
Status
Closed
Released Data Link
Team
Principal Investigator
Team Members
Related Publications
Oostrom M, GD Tartakovsky, TW Wietsma, MJ Truex, and JH Dane. 2011. "Determination of Water Saturation in Relatively Dry Porous Media Using Gas-phase Tracer Tests." Vadose Zone Journal 10(2):634-641.
Oostrom M, KV Smoot, TW Wietsma, MJ Truex, MW Benecke, and GB Chronister. 2012. "Vadose Zone Soil Moisture Wicking Using Super Absorbent Polymers." Vadose Zone Journal 11(4):, doi:10.2136/vzj2011.0200
Oostrom, M., T. W. Wietsma, and M. J. Truex. 2009. Laboratory experiments of desiccation as a method for contaminant transport reduction. Eos Trans. American Geophysical Union, 90(52), Fall Meet. Suppl., Abstract H13B-0945.
Oostrom M, TW Wietsma, CE Strickland, VL Freedman, and MJ Truex. 2012. "Sensor and numerical simulator evaluation for porous medium desiccation and rewetting at the intermediate laboratory scale." Vadose Zone Journal 11(1):Article No. 0089. doi:10.2136/vzj2011.0089
Oostrom, M., T.W. Wietsma, J.H. Dane, M.J. Truex, and A.L. Ward. 2009. Desiccation of unsaturated porous media: Intermediate-scale experiments and numerical simulation. Vadose Zone Journal 8: 1-8.
Oostrom M, VL Freedman, TW Wietsma, JH Dane, and MJ Truex. 2012. "Effects of Porous Medium Heterogeneity on Vadose Zone Desiccation: Intermediate-scale Laboratory Experiments and Simulations." Vadose Zone Journal 11(4):, doi:10.2136/vzj2011.0168
Pfletschinger H, H Prommer, C Schuth, M Herbst, and I Engelhardt. 2014. "Sensitivity of Vadose Zone Water Fluxes to Climate Shifts in Arid Settings." Vadose Zone Journal 13(1):, doi:10.2136/vzj2013.02.0043
Ward A.L, M. Oostrom, and D.H. Bacon. 2008. Experimental and Numerical Investigations of Soil Desiccation for Vadose Zone Remediation: Report for Fiscal Year 2007. PNNL-17274, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA.
Wietsma, T.W., M.Oostrom, G.D. Tartakovsky, and M. J. Truex. 2009. Gas-phase tracer column experiments to detect and quantify soil moisture during desiccation. Eos Trans. American Geophysical Union, 90(52), Fall Meet. Suppl., Abstract H13B-0956.