Field Study to Investigate WIDE Technology for TCE Extraction
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 132, Issue 9
Abstract
A full-scale field study was conducted using well injection depth extraction (WIDE) technology to remove trichloroethylene (TCE) from subsurface profiles with fine-grained soils. WIDE incorporates the use of geosynthetic wick drains, attached to an aboveground PVC pipe network, designed to (1) extract contaminated fluids from a specific depth using vacuum pressure, and/or (2) inject flushing solutions. Both extraction-only and concurrent injection-extraction testing schemes were conducted, and fluid flow rates, TCE recovery rates, and groundwater elevations were monitored over a time interval. During extraction-only operational schemes, gas-phase TCE extraction rates were significantly higher than liquid-phase extraction rates due to the increased volume of air within the geosynthetic wells and PVC piping. TCE extraction rates were less than for airflow rates less than , and increased significantly to as the airflow rate approached . Long term testing and sampling is needed to quantify system performance and determine tailing and rebounding effects in comparison to conventional methods. The behaviors and trends observed during the field study are presented and discussed.
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Acknowledgments
The study was funded by the Federal Energy Technology Center (name now changed to National Energy Technology Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy)DOE. Reflective Metals Industries, Inc. is acknowledged for cooperative efforts. Dr. Mike Sabodish assisted the team during the planning and installation phases of this study. The Nilex Corporation performed the system installation.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 132 • Issue 9 • September 2006
Pages: 1111 - 1120
Copyright
© 2006 ASCE.
History
Received: Jul 22, 2003
Accepted: Nov 4, 2005
Published online: Sep 1, 2006
Published in print: Sep 2006
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