Field applicability of Partitioning and Interfacial Tracer Tests for NAPL source zone characterisation at a former gasification plant

摘要

A planned Partitioning and Interfacial Tracer Test (PITT) at a field site nearby a former coal gasification plant required further validation of this in situ method for the integrated determination of DNAPL (here: tar oil) amount and distribution. The efficiency of PITTs was tested in controlled laboratory studies (batch, column, tank) under different flow-velocities (1 m/d - 5 m/d) and DNAPL distributions (DNAPL coatings, DNAPL blobs, DNAPL pool). The alcohols 4-Methyl-2-Pentanol (4M2P), 1-Hexanol (1HEX) and 2,4-Dimethyl-3-Pentanol (2,4DM3P) were used as suitable partitioning tracers to measure the DNAPL saturation (S_n), while Sodium Laurylethersulfate (SLES), an anionic surfactant, was used as interfacial tracer to estimate the effective DNAPL-water interfacial area (A_(N W))-All PITTs were conducted as pulse-type experiments and the resulting breakthrough curves were analyzed by the method of moments.