IMPROVED DOWN-HOLE CPT TOOLS FOR THE DETECTION OF CHLORINATED SOLVENTS

Conventional soil and groundwater sampling procedures present many opportunities for loss of volatile organic compounds (VOC) by exposing sample media to the atmosphere during transfers between sampling devices and containers, ultimately affecting the quality of the analytical results. Inaccurate characterization data often leads to improperly designed remedial systems that slow the clean-up process and increase the cost. For these reasons, in situ methods for sample extraction and real time analysis provide attractive alternatives to conventional sampling and analysis. Under funding from the U.S. Department of Energy's Federal Energy Technology Center (FETC), the investigators continued development of a system that combines High Speed Gas Chromatography techniques with Cone Penetration Testing to achieve near-real time analysis of soils and groundwater for chlorinated and aromatic hydrocarbon contamination (PCE, TCE, BTEX) during site characterization. The system combines three new CPT tools with an up-hole analyzer. The Dynamic Thermal Desorption (DTD) probe provides the up-hole analyzer with continuously sampled soil gas, enhancing detection limits by heating the soil matrix during penetration to thermally desorb volatile organic contaminants. The CPT In Situ Purge Probe (CISP) purges a water sample in situ, transferring the purge gas up-hole for analysis. Alternatively, soil gas or purge gas from the DTD probe or the CISP can be diverted to a Downhole Trap Module (DTM), which traps contaminants on conventional trap media for later analysis in a fixed laboratory. While the effectiveness of the CISP was hampered by the tendency of fine grained materials to clog its sample inlet filter, the DTD probe and the DTM were demonstrated to perform their intended functions well