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U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
U.S. EPA Technology Innovation and Field Services Division

Environmental Fracturing

Guidance

Adobe PDF LogoAnalysis of Selected Enhancements for Soil Vapor Extraction
EPA 542-R-97-007, 1997

This report provides an engineering analysis of, and status report on, selected enhancements for the following soil vapor extraction (SVE) treatment technologies: air sparging, dual-phase extraction, directional drilling, pneumatic and hydraulic fracturing, and thermal enhancement. It also offers an evaluation of each technology's applicability to various site conditions, cost and performance information, a list of vendors specializing in the technologies, a discussion of relative strengths and limitations of the technologies, recommendations to keep in mind when considering the enhancements, and extensive references.

Adobe PDF LogoAdvanced Hydraulic Fracturing Methods to Create In Situ Reactive Barriers
1997. L. Murdoch; B. Siegrist; T. Meiggs, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, TN. ORNL/CP--95423, NTIS: DE98001942, 11 pp.

Hydraulic fracturing methods offer a mechanism for emplacing materials (e.g., ZVI organic substrates) to create in situ redox zones for treatment of organics and inorganics. Specialized hydraulic fracturing methods allow changes in the form of the fracture, such as creation of asymmetric fractures beneath potential sources (i.e., tanks, pits, buildings) that should not be penetrated by boring. Examples of field applications of this technique are discussed.

Adobe PDF LogoAlternative Methods for Fluid Delivery and Recovery
EPA 625-R-94-003, 1994. See Chapter 3, Induced Fractures, 22 pp.

Adobe PDF LogoHydraulic and Pneumatic Fracturing
Suthersan, S.S.
Remediation Engineering: Design Concepts, CRC Press LLC, Boca Raton, FL. Chapter 9: p 237-254, 1999

This chapter describes the hydraulic and pneumatic fracturing processes and discusses site characterization, pilot testing, system design, and integration with other technologies.

Adobe PDF LogoHydraulic Fracturing to Enhance Remediation
Hedgcoxe, H.R., H.R. Clubb, A.J. Pastene, and B. Chaffee.
Proceedings of the Tenth Outdoor Action Conference and Exposition: Hydraulic Fracturing to Enhance Remediation: Aquifer Remediation/Ground Water Monitoring/Geophysical Methods/ Soil Treatment, May 13-15, 1996, Las Vegas, Nevada. p 63-75, 1996

This paper compares the general limitations of pump and treat with the advantages of hydraulic fracturing when removing NAPL at shallow depths from low permeability soil. The paper describes methods of employing hydraulic fracturing during remediation and compares field data showing LNAPL recovery from fractured and unfractured wells.

Adobe PDF LogoMicrofracture Surface Characterizations: Implications for In Situ Remedial Methods in Fractured Rock
Eighmy, T. et al.
EPA/600/R-05/121, 99 pp, June 2006

This research project of the Bedrock Bioremediation Center at the University of New Hampshire relates to possible relations between microfracture networks in the bedrock, the surface geochemistry of these microfractures, and how this affects the ecology and metabolic activity of attached microbes relative to their ability to degrade TCE. The research was designed to investigate the following questions: 1) How does the microfracture surface influence attachment and growth? (2) How does the geochemistry of the microfracture surface influence population ecology and metabolism? (3) What is the relationship between the relatively high specific surface area of the microfracture network and the adjacent relatively open and more voluminous open fracture system? More specifically, how does the microfracture surface influence the dominant terminal electron acceptor processes in the microfracture network? (4) Lastly, what is the precise nature of TCE biodegradative processes within the microfracture network?