Combining steam injection with hydraulic fracturing for the in situ remediation of the unsaturated zone of a fractured soil polluted by jet fuel

In-Situ Remediation Approaches for the Management of Contaminated Sites: A Comprehensive Overview

“…It involved proper monitoring of the physico-chemical characteristics like temperature, gas and liquid fl ow rate which are the critical factors that decide the success of a heating technology at fi eldlevel (US EPA 2001 ). Nilsson et al ( 2011 ) proved that steam stripping coupled with steam distillation can remove volatile and non-volatile hydrocarbons (jet fuel) even from an unsaturated zone of low permeability soils at bench-scale. The principle behind the technology is that injecting steam in the unsaturated zone of low permeability soils leads to a steady rise in the water saturation level, drastically changes the soil pore structure, and creates small fractures of micron size that act as better routes for the steam fl ow.…”

“…Eventually, fractures become highly permeable as the gel degrades (Cipolla et al 2008 ). To enhance the contaminant recovery, soil vapor extraction technology can be used in conjunction with the hydraulic fracturing process (Nilsson et al 2011 ). Lasagna™ is an integrated technology that combines the principle of electroosmosis with fracturing, wherein fractures are created by hydraulic fracturing (Roulier et al 2000 ).…”

“…For example, fracturing enhances fl uid fl ow rate in the fi ssured zones in in -situ electrokinetics, enhances the delivery of nutrients and oxygen into inaccessible locations in case of in -situ biodegradation, creates fractured pathways to collect the injected air laden with contaminants in in -situ air sparging, and creates heating zones by injecting graphite into the fractures in in -situ vitrifi cation. However, fracturing has some limitations: (1) fi nal location of newly created fractures is uncontrollable; (2) fracturing near existing wells could damage the well casings and seals; (3) it creates new routes for unnecessary spread of contaminants; (4) prior investigations of the possible structures of trapped free product and underground utilities are always required; and (5) this technique is not appropriate for fi ll materials or disturbed soils (Nilsson et al 2011 ).…”

Atmospheric pressure dielectric barrier discharge for the remediation of soil contaminated by organic pollutants

“…Most of these methods are highly energy-consuming (e.g., incineration) or have low removal efficiency in low permeability zones (e.g., soil vapor extraction, steam injection) (Nilsson et al 2011;Carroll et al 2012). The latter is due to the high permeability fluctuation of mineral soils (sand/clay/silt) that leads to preferential flow of the flushing remedial fluids through the high permeability soil layers Tsakiroglou 2008, 2009).…”

Electrode Design for Soil Decontamination with Radio‐Frequency Heating

“…Compared to other thermal methods such as thermal lances, resistive heating, or steam injection [1][2][3][4], RF heating has a unique flexibility with respect to soil properties (composition, moisture, permeability) and achievable soil temperatures. The ability to control soil temperatures offers a great potential for enhancement of remediation processes, such as biodegradation or soil vapor extraction (SVE) [5][6][7][8][9][10].…”