Predicting Permeation of Organic Contaminants into Polyethylenes
Publication: Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 139, Issue 2
Abstract
A model was developed and validated for predicting solubility and diffusion coefficients for contaminants permeating polyethylene (PE) materials used for water pipes and geomembranes. Model development was based on diffusivity and solubility of 13 contaminants and six PE materials that were new and/or aged in chlorinated water. Physical and chemical properties of the contaminants and PEs were included as variables in the model. Tree regression was used to select variables, and multiple linear regression was used to develop predictive equations for contaminant diffusivity and solubility in PE. Organic contaminant properties, especially dipole moment and octanol-water partition coefficient, had greater predictive capability than PE properties. Coefficients of determination were obtained for the multiple linear regressions. Model coefficients changed slightly between new PE materials and chlorine-aged PE, but these changes were not statistically significant. Good agreement was demonstrated between model predictions and measured data from an independent data set. These results provide guidance for material selection for both water pipes and geomembranes and assessing contamination potential.
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Acknowledgments
Funding for this modeling work was provided by the National Science Foundation (CBET-0755342). Opinions, findings, conclusions, and recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the funding agency.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 139 • Issue 2 • February 2013
Pages: 205 - 212
Copyright
© 2013 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Sep 16, 2011
Accepted: Sep 6, 2012
Published online: Sep 8, 2012
Published in print: Feb 1, 2013
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