Degradation of organic vapors in unsaturated soils

To predict the fate of volatile organic compounds (VOC s) in unsaturated soil, it is necessary to understand the physical and chemical processes that occur in the soil system. Two important removal mechanisms of organic vapors in soil are sorption and biodegradation. Modeling efforts to describe the...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of hazardous materials 1991, Vol.28 (1), p.55-64
Main Authors: English, C.W., Loehr, R.C.
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:To predict the fate of volatile organic compounds (VOC s) in unsaturated soil, it is necessary to understand the physical and chemical processes that occur in the soil system. Two important removal mechanisms of organic vapors in soil are sorption and biodegradation. Modeling efforts to describe the removal of organic vapors in soil require constitutive relationships that are developed from laboratory data. This paper reports measurements of removal coefficients for three VOC s in a fine sandy loam soil. Sorption coefficients and degradation removal rates were determined from batch reactors for three compounds: benzene, trichloroethylene (TCE) and o-xylene. Results indicate organic vapors are sorbed and then removed by biodegradation in the unsaturated soil system. This information has potential for use in the bioremediation of soils contaminated with VOC s and for impacting decisions on air emissions, regulatory limits and on-site controls.
ISSN:0304-3894
1873-3336
DOI:10.1016/0304-3894(91)87005-M