Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) Transport through Compacted Clay
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 127, Issue 2
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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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 127 • Issue 2 • February 2001
Pages: 126 - 134
History
Received: Jul 6, 1999
Published online: Feb 1, 2001
Published in print: Feb 2001
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