Organic Liquid Contamination

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LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Contamination Source

The study deals with the sites contaminated by organic liquids (fluids and solvents) such as gasoline and its BTEX (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene) constituents, as well as chlorinated solvents such as trichloroethylene (TCE) and tetrachloroethylene (PCE) as organic liquids are a common source of groundwater contamination. Most synthetic (solvents) or natural (oil) organic compounds found at contaminated sites are only sparingly soluble in water. As a result, they can exist in the subsurface as a separate liquid phase, hence commonly referred to as a Non Aqueous Phase Liquids (NAPLs). Organic liquids that are heavier than water are referred to as Dense Non Aqueous Phase Liquids (DNAPLs). …show more content…

Advection describes the movement of the contaminant due to a pressure gradient, and, in the subsurface, the mass flux is proportional to the flow velocity, contaminant concentration, and the effective porosity of the media [Fetter 1999]. Dispersion is the scattering, spreading, and/or mixing of the contaminant as a result of variations in micro-scale flow velocities. It should be noted that when a contaminant is flowing in a horizontal direction, the amount of dispersion could be quite different in the concurrent (longitudinal) direction compared to a direction that is perpendicular (transverse) to the direction of flow. Lastly, diffusion refers to the migration of the contaminant in response to a concentration gradient. As a result of diffusion, contaminants migrate from regions of high concentration to regions of low concentration. [Reddy & Tekola …show more content…

As no reaction kinetic data are required, instantaneous reaction model provides a very simple alternative to model reaction transport of solute in subsurface.

2.6 External Stresses
Hydrogeological and hydro-geobiochemical stresses like seasonal hydrologic variations, flood events, ground water abstraction, irrigation or drainage, precipitation, lake stage variation, canal operation are referred to as external stresses. These are the external influences which change the flow patterns in the aquifer. The largest external influence on ground water systems is climate. Drought cycles cause a large fluctuations in recharge rates and groundwater levels. Human caused external stresses such as pumping, artificial recharge from canals and percolation from irrigation supply also affect the ground water system.

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