Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) Transport through Compacted Clay
by Jae Y. Kim, A.M.ASCE, (Asst. Prof., Div. of Civ., Urban, and Geosys. Engrg., Seoul Natl. Univ. 151-742, Seoul, Korea), Tuncer B. Edil, (corresponding author), M.ASCE, (Prof., Dept. of Civ. and Envir. Engrg., Univ. of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706), and Jae K. Park, (Assoc. Prof., Dept. of Civ. and Envir. Engrg., Univ. of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI)
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering, Vol. 127, No. 2, February 2001, pp. 126-134, (doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)1090-0241(2001)127:2(126))
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Journal Paper |
| Abstract: |
Movement of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) through compacted clay liners was investigated using laboratory-scale column and tank tests. Hydraulic conductivity of the compacted clay was not significantly impacted by the introduction of VOCs in concentrations up to 20 mg/L. Soil-water partition coefficients of the seven VOCs tested had a strong logarithmic relationship with the octanol-water partition coefficient. Partition coefficients from batch tests were in good agreement with those measured directly on soil samples at the termination of the column/tank tests. The VOCs were degraded in the clay, with estimated half-lives ranging from 2 to 116 days. Mechanical dispersion was not significant in the range of the hydraulic conductivities of the test specimens (i.e., «10-7 cm/s). Effective molecular diffusion coefficients were mostly in 10-6 cm²/s and generally decreased with increasing aqueous solubility. Mass transport parameters of VOCs in clay liners can be estimated from laboratory batch tests and properly prepared small-scale column tests. However, accounting for degradation of VOCs and minimizing the number of transport parameters that are simultaneously estimated from a single response-time record are important considerations for accurate determination of transport parameters. |
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