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ASSESSMENT OF FLUSHING METHODS FOR THE REMOVAL OF HEAVY CHLORINATED COMPOUNDS DNAPL IN AN ALLUVIAL AQUIFER
Maire, J., A. Joubert, D. Kaifas, T. Invernizzi, J. Marduel, S. Colombano, D. Cazaux, et al.
Science of the Total Environment 612:1149-1158(2018)

Immiscible mobilization and foam flushing were assessed as low surfactant-consuming technologies for enhanced recovery of DNAPL residual at a site contaminated by heavy chlorinated compounds. Preliminary experiments in well-controlled conditions demonstrated the phenomena involved in these remediation technologies and their limitations. The investigators characterized the technologies according to their surfactant consumption (per kg of DNAPL recovered) and the final DNAPL saturation reached. Surfactant foam flushing (SFF) produced lower DNAPL saturation than immiscible mobilization, thanks to its higher viscosity; however, SFF efficiency was strongly correlated to the pressure gradient used during injection, and that was limited by risks of soil fracturing. The two technologies were tested in field cells (10 m x 10 m x 10 m) delimited by cement/bentonite walls anchored in the clayey substratum. Field results suggest modeling of flushing fluid propagation as a next step to design efficient set-ups for recovering the displaced DNAPL.



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