Using tracer technique to study the flow behavior of surfactant foam

Surfactant foam was used to remove absorbed hydrocarbons from soils. The nature and extent of the foam pathway decide the efficiency of this technology. The characteristics and behavior of foam flow are difficult to visually observe. In this study, laboratory sandbox experiments were performed to es...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of hazardous materials 2009-07, Vol.166 (2), p.1232-1237
Main Authors: Tsai, Yih-Jin, Chou, Feng-Chih, Cheng, Shin-Jen
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adsorption
Aluminum Silicates
Applied sciences
Chemical engineering
Decontamination. Miscellaneous
Exact sciences and technology
Foam flow
Hydrocarbons - isolation & purification
Hydrodynamics of contact apparatus
Iron
Iron powder
Pilot Projects
Pollution
Powders - chemistry
Rheology
Sandbox test
Soil and sediments pollution
Soil Pollutants - isolation & purification
Surface-Active Agents - analysis
Surfactant foam
Tracer technique
Citations: Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Surfactant foam was used to remove absorbed hydrocarbons from soils. The nature and extent of the foam pathway decide the efficiency of this technology. The characteristics and behavior of foam flow are difficult to visually observe. In this study, laboratory sandbox experiments were performed to estimate the flow behavior of surfactant foam and thus elucidate the properties and flow behavior of surfactant foam. To quantitatively determine the distribution of foam and evaluate accurately the flow field of foam in the soil, this study designed a special technique, applying micro-scale iron powder as a tracer. The foam generated with 4% (w/v) mixed solution of Span 60 and sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) showed an excellent stability and quality, which made it particularly apt for this study. The results indicated that the foam flows through the zone above the clay planes and also flows through the zone between the clay planes. The heterogeneous sand does not inhibit the invasion of foam flow. Moreover, the results of tracer tests and photographs of the foam distributions in sandbox were identical in the behavior of foam flow. This knowledge is valuable for providing insight into the foam remediation of contaminated soil.
ISSN:0304-3894
1873-3336
DOI:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2008.12.038