Organoclays as Variably Permeable Reactive Barrier Media to Manage NAPLs in Ground Water
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 138, Issue 2
Abstract
Three commercial organoclays were evaluated as media for a variably permeable reactive barrier (VPRB) to manage coal-tar creosote, a non-aqueous-phase liquid (NAPL) consisting primarily of polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Organoclays and organoclay-sand mixtures having at least 25% organoclay had NAPL conductivities of less than , whereas hydraulic conductivities to water were on the order of . Water migration was negligible in organoclays solvated with NAPL, but PAHs were released to the aqueous phase when the solvated clay contacted deionized water. Sorption isotherms for aqueous-phase PAHs are convex upward within the range of concentrations of environmental interest, and greater sorption occurs when the aqueous phase contains multiple PAHs. In column tests, breakthrough occurred for only naphthalene (lowest ) and for only one organoclay (lowest organic carbon content) for tests on 100% organoclay and organoclay-sand mixtures conducted for 208–276 pore volumes of flow (PVF). Breakthrough predicted with solute transport analyses conducted using batch isotherm parameters as input occurred later than observed in the column test because isotherm models fit to the batch test data overpredicted sorption at low concentrations. The findings indicate that organoclays should be effective media for VPRBs to manage creosote NAPL and associated PAHs dissolved in groundwater. They block NAPL advection, readily permit the flow of water with dissolved PAHs, and sorb dissolved PAHs from water flowing through the clays.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
Financial support for this study was provided by CH2M Hill and Benson’s Wisconsin Distinguished Professorship. Thomas Hutchinson of CH2M Hill was the project manager. Ören was also supported in part by Grant BIDEP-2219 from the Scientific and Technical Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK).
References
Abichou, T., Benson, C., and Edil, T. (2002). “Micro-structure and hydraulic conductivity of simulated sand-bentonite mixtures.” Clays Clay Miner., 50(5), 537–545.
Ake, C., et al. (2003). “Porous organoclay composite for the sorption of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and pentachlorophenol from groundwater.” Chemosphere, 51(9), 835–844.
ASTM. (2008a). D422 - Standard test method for particle-size analysis of soils, annual book of standards, Vol. 04.08 soil and rock, ASTM Int., West Conshohocken, PA.
ASTM. (2008b). D854 - Standard test method for specific gravity of soil solids by water pycnometer, annual book of standards, Vol. 04.08 soil and rock, ASTM Int., West Conshohocken, PA.
ASTM. (2008c). D2434 - Standard test method for permeability of granular soils (constant head), annual book of standards, Vol. 04.08 soil and rock, ASTM Int., West Conshohocken, PA.
Baker, D., and Benson, C. (2007). “Effect of system variables and particle size on physical characteristics of air sparging plumes.” Geotech. Geol. Eng., 25(5), 543–558.
Bartelt-Hunt, S. L., Burns, S. E., and Smith, J. A. (2003). “Nonionic organic solute sorption onto two organobentonites as a function of organic-carbon content.” J. Colloid Interface Sci., 266(2), 251–258.
Bartelt-Hunt, S., Smith, J., Burns, S., and Rabideau, A. (2005). “Evaluation of granular activated carbon, shale, and two organoclay for use as sorptive amendments in clay landfill liners.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 131(7), 848–856.
Benson, C., Lee, S., and Ören, A. (2008). “Evaluation of three organoclays for an adsorptive barrier to manage DNAPL and dissolved-phase polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in ground water.” Geo Engineering Rep. No. 08-24, Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison, WI.
Broderick, G. P., and Daniel, D. E. (1990). “Stabilizing compacted clay against chemical attack.” J. Geotech. Eng., 116(10), 1549–1567.
Burns, S., Bartelt-Hunt, S., Smith, J., and Redding, A. (2006). “Coupled mechanical and chemical behavior of bentonite engineered with a controlled organic phase.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 132(11), 1404–1412.
Carrizosa, M. J., Koskinen, W. C., Hermosin, M. C., and Cornejo, J. (2001). “Dicabma adsorption-desorption on organoclays.” Appl. Clay Sci., 18(5-6), 223–231.
Changchaivong, S., and Khaodhiar, S. (2009). “Adsorption of naphthalene and phenanthrene on dodecyclpyridinium-modified bentonite.” Appl. Clay Sci., 43(3–4), 317–321.
Chen, B., and Zhu, L. (2001). “Partition of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons on organobentonites from water.” J. Environ. Sci. (China), 13(2), 129–136.
Cruz-Guzman, M., Celis, R., Hermosin, M., and Cornejo, J. (2004). “Adsorption of the herbicide simazine by montmorillonite modified with natural organic cations.” Environ. Sci. Technol., 38(1), 180–186.
Das, B. (2010). Principles of geotechnical engineering, 7th Ed., Cengage Learning, Stamford, CT.
El-Nahhal, Y. Z., and Safi, J. M. (2004). “Adsorption of phenanthrene on organoclays from distilled and saline water.” J. Colloid Interface Sci., 269(2), 265–273.
Faschan, A., Tittlebaum, M., and Cartledge, F. (1993). “Nonionic organic partitioning onto organoclays.” Hazard. Waste Hazard. Mater., 10(3), 313–322.
Foreman, D. E., and Daniel, D. E. (1986). “Permeation of compacted clay with organic chemicals.” J. Geotech. Eng., 112(7), 669–681.
Fuller, M., Smith, J. A., and Burns, S. E. (2007). “Sorption of nonionic organic solutes from water to tetraalkylammonium bentonite: Mechanistic considerations and application of the Polanyi-Manes potential theory.” J. Colloid Interface Sci., 313(2), 405–413.
Gates, W., Nefiodovas, A., and Peter, P. (2004). “Permeability of an organo-modified bentonite to ethanol-water solutions.” Clays Clay Miner., 52(2), 192–203.
Groisman, L., Rav-Acha, C., Gerstl, Z., and Mingelgrin, U. (2004). “Sorption of organic compounds of varying hydrophobicities from water and industrial wastewater by long- and short-chain organoclays.” Appl. Clay Sci., 24(3-4), 159–166.
Gullick, R., and Weber, W. (2001). “Evaluation of shale and organoclays as sorbent additives for low-permeability soil containment barriers.” Environ. Sci. Technol., 35(7), 1523–1530.
Hale, R. C., and Aneiro, K. M. (1997). “Determination of coal tar and creosote constituents in the aquatic environment.” J. Chromatogr. A, 774(1–2), 79–95.
Jaynes, W., and Boyd, S. (1990). “Trimethylphenylammonium-smectite as an effective adsorbent of water soluble aromatic hydrocarbons.” J. Air Waste Manage. Assoc., 40(12), 1649–1653.
Jaynes, W., and Boyd, S. (1991). “Hydrophobicity of siloxane surface in smectite as revealed by aromatic hydrocarbon and adsorption from water.” Clays Clay Miner., 39(4), 428–436.
Jo, H., Katsumi, T., Benson, C., and Edil, T. (2001). “Hydraulic conductivity and swelling of non-prehydrated GCLs permeated with single species salt solutions.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 127(7), 557–567.
Jonker, M. T., Brils, J. M., Sinke, A., Murk, A. J., and Koelmans, A. A. (2006). “Weathering and toxicity of marine sediments contaminated with oils and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.” Environ. Toxicol. Chem., 25(5), 1345–1353.
Lee, S. Y., Kim, S. J., Chung, S. Y., and Jeong, C. H. (2004). “Sorption of hydrophobic organic compounds onto organoclays.” Chemosphere, 55(5), 781–785.
Li, J., Smith, J., and Winquist, A. (1996). “Permeability of earthen liners containing organobentonite to water and two organic liquids.” Environ. Sci. Technol., 30(10), 3089–3093.
Lorenzetti, R. J., Bartelt-Hunt, S. L., Burns, S. E., and Smith, J. A. (2005). “Hydraulic conductivities and effective diffusion coefficients of geosynthetic clay liners with organobentonite amendments.” Geotext. Geomembr., 23(5), 385–400.
Mesri, G., and Olson, R. E. (1971). “Mechanisms controlling the permeability of clays.” Clays Clay Miner., 19(3), 151–158.
Montgomery, J. (2007). Groundwater chemicals desk reference, Taylor & Francis Group, Boca Raton, FL.
Nzengung, V. A., Voudrias, E. A., Nkedi-Kizza, P., Wampler, J. M., and Weaver, C. E. (1996). “Organic cosolvent effects on sorption equilibrium of hydrophobic organic chemicals by organoclays.” Environ. Sci. Technol., 30(1), 89–96.
Priddle, M. W., and MacQuarrie, K. T. (1994). “Dissolution of creosote in groundwater: An experimental and modeling investigation.” J. Contam. Hydrol., 15(1–2), 27–56.
Qu, X., Liu, P., and Zhu, D. (2008). “Enhanced sorption of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons to tetra-alkyl ammonium modified smectites via cation- interactions.” Environ. Sci. Technol., 42(4), 1109–1116.
Redding, A. Z., Burns, S. E., Upson, R. T., and Anderson, E. F. (2002). “Organoclay sorption of benzene as a function of total organic carbon content.” J. Colloid Interface Sci., 250(1), 261–264.
Reible, D. D. (2005). “Organoclay laboratory study—Mccormick and Baxter Creosoting Company Portland, Oregon.” State of Oregon Dept. of Environmental Quality Project 005-05, Dept. of Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering, Univ. of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX.
Reible, D., Lu, X., Khanam, A., and Blischke, H. (2007). “Organoclay for control of NAPLs in sediments.” Proc. 4th Int. Conf. on Remediation of Contaminated Sediments, Battelle Press, Columbus, OH, 1–7.
Ruan, X., Zhu, L., and Chen, B. (2008). “Adsorptive characteristics of the siloxane surfaces of reduced-charge bentonites saturated with tetramethylammonium cation.” Environ. Sci. Technol., 42(21), 7911–7917.
Shackelford, C. D., Benson, C. H., Katsumi, T., Edil, T. B., and Lin L. (2000). “Evaluating the hydraulic conductivity of GCLS permeated with non-standard liquids.” Geotext. Geomembr., 18(2–4), 133–161.
Šimůnek, J., Šejna, M., and van Genuchten, M. (2007). The HYDRUS Software Package for Simulating the Two- and Three-Dimensional Movement of Water, Heat, and Multiple Solutes in Variably-Saturated Media, Version 1.02, Dept. of Environmental Sciences, Univ. of California-Riverside, Riverside, CA.
Smith, J. A., Bartelt-Hunt, S. L., and Burns, S. E. (2003). “Sorption and permeability of gasoline hydrocarbons in organobentonite porous media.” J. Hazard. Mater., 96(1), 91–97.
Smith, J., and Galan, A. (1995). “Sorption of nonionic organic contaminants to single and dual organic cation bentonites from water.” Environ. Sci. Technol., 29(3), 685–692.
Smith, J., Jaffe, P., and Chiou, C. (1990). “Effect of ten quaternary ammonium cations on tetrachloromethane sorption to clay from water.” Environ. Sci. Technol., 24(8), 1167–1172.
Soule, N., and Burns, S. (2001). “Effects of organic cation structure on behavior of organobentonites.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 127(4), 363–370.
Stockmeyer, M. R. (1991). “Adsorption of organic compounds on organophillic bentonites.” Appl. Clay Sci., 6(1), 39–57.
Upson, R. T., and Burns, S. E. (2006). “Sorption of nitroaromatic compounds to synthesized organoclays.” J. Colloid Interface Sci., 297(1), 70–76.
van der Oost, R., Beyer, J., and Vermeulen, N. P. (2003). “Fish bioaccumulation and biomarkers in environmental risk assessment: A review.” Environ. Toxicol. Pharmacol., 13(2), 57–149.
Wiles, M. C., Huebner, H. J., McDonald, T. J., Donnelly, K. C., and Phillips, T. D. (2005). “Matrix-immobilized organoclay for the sorption of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and pentachlorophenol from groundwater.” Chemosphere, 59(10), 1455–1464.
Wisconsin Soil and Plant Laboratory (WSPL). (2005). Carbon (total, organic, and inorganic), standard method, WI Soil and Plant Analysis Laboratory, Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison, WI.
Yang, X., and Lo, I. (2004). “Flow of gasoline through composite liners.” J. Environ. Eng., 130(8), 886–890.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Copyright
© 2012 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: May 8, 2010
Accepted: May 24, 2011
Published online: May 26, 2011
Published in print: Feb 1, 2012
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.