Soil contamination with hazardous substances can be in solid or liquid forms such as petrochemicals or chlorinated solvents hydrocarbons. Contaminants in soil can be physically or chemically adsorbed to soil grains or only trapped in pore space. Soil contamination usually occurs through spillage or burial directly at the contaminated area or migration from a spillage or burial source occurred elsewhere. Some of most occurring sources of soil pollution are petrochemical and chemical contamination. This study investigates the use of electromagnetic (EM) waves with various radiation patterns to induce a controlled transportation of a nonhazardous dye (used as contamination simulant). The medium in this study is aqueous (i.e., water), which helps to monitor the contaminant simulant transport under EM stimulated conditions. EM waves can be launched into the medium at proper frequencies to minimize the heat generation and temperature increase, yet induce a transport according to the EM radiation pattern. Then, the contaminant-simulant transport under EM-stimulated and unstimulated conditions were studied, and the results suggest that dielectrophoresis can be the underlying mechanism of observed EM-induced flow of the contaminant Simulant in the aqueous medium. This is consistent with numerical results as well
Air sparging is a technique that uses the injection of a gas (e.g., air, oxygen) into the subsurface to remediate saturated soils and groundwater contaminated with volatile organic compounds (VOCs). During air sparging, air or oxygen is injected into the subsurface below the lowest known depth of chemical contamination. The injected air will rise through the contaminated zones by buoyancy. Contaminant removal efficiency and air sparging performance are highly dependent on the pattern and type of airflow. Airflow, however, suffers from air channel formation (i.e., preferential paths for airflow), limiting remediation to smaller contaminated zones. This paper presents the results of experimental work investigating the possibility of controlling and improving airflow patterns through a saturated glass-bead medium using electromagnetic (EM) waves to enhance air sparging. The test setup consists of a resonant cavity made of an acrylic tank covered with transparent, electrically conductive films. Experimental measurement of the electric field component of EM waves is performed at different frequencies. Airflow pattern is also studied at different air-injection pressure levels with/without EM stimulation. The zone of influence (ZOI) during air sparging is monitored using digital imaging. A quantitative approach is then taken to correlate the characteristics of EM waves and airflow patterns.
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