In Situ Equilibrium Polyethylene Passive Sampling of Soil Gas VOC Concentrations: Modeling, Parameter Determinations, and Laboratory Testing

The use of low-density polyethylene (PE) sheets as equilibrium passive soil gas samplers to quantify volatile organic compounds (VOCs) such as benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylenes, and chlorinated solvents (e.g., trichloroethene and tetrachloroethene) in unsaturated subsurface environments wa...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Environmental science & technology 2022-06, Vol.56 (12), p.7810-7819
Main Authors: Gschwend, Philip, MacFarlane, John, Jensen, David, Soo, Jaren, Saparbaiuly, Galym, Borrelli, Raffaella, Vago, Fabio, Oldani, Alessandro, Zaninetta, Luciano, Verginelli, Iason, Baciocchi, Renato
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Benzene
Chemical properties
Contaminants in Aquatic and Terrestrial Environments
Equilibrium
Ethylbenzene
Gas sampling
Headspace
Laboratory tests
Low density polyethylenes
Organic compounds
Parameters
Polyethylene
Samplers
Sheets
Soil contamination
Soil gas
Soil gases
Soil pollution
Tetrachloroethylene
Toluene
Trichloroethylene
Vapor phases
VOCs
Volatile organic compounds
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Summary:The use of low-density polyethylene (PE) sheets as equilibrium passive soil gas samplers to quantify volatile organic compounds (VOCs) such as benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylenes, and chlorinated solvents (e.g., trichloroethene and tetrachloroethene) in unsaturated subsurface environments was evaluated via modeling and benchtop testing. Two methods were devised to quantify such VOCs in PE. Key chemical properties, including PE–water (K PEw) and PE–air (K PEa) partition coefficients and diffusivities in the PE (D pe), were determined. These K PEw, K PEa, and D pe values were consistent with extrapolations of data based on larger compounds. Using these parameter values, field equilibration times of less than 1 day were estimated for such VOCs when using 70–100 μm thick PE sheets. Further, benchtop batch tests carried out in jars filled with VOC-contaminated soils, after 1 or 2 days, showed concentrations in soil air deduced from PE that were consistent with concentrations deduced by analyzing either water or headspace gases recovered from the same tests. Thus, PE-based measurements may overcome inaccuracies from using total soil concentrations and equilibrium partitioning models that may overestimate vapor phase concentrations up to 2 orders of magnitude.
ISSN:0013-936X
1520-5851
DOI:10.1021/acs.est.1c07045