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Soil vapor extraction system design: A case study comparing vacuum and pore‐gas velocity cutoff criteria
Author(s) -
Dixon Kenneth L.,
Nichols Ralph L.
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
remediation journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.762
H-Index - 27
eISSN - 1520-6831
pISSN - 1051-5658
DOI - 10.1002/rem.20112
Subject(s) - soil vapor extraction , vadose zone , extraction (chemistry) , environmental science , pore water pressure , soil gas , soil water , contamination , geotechnical engineering , soil science , petroleum engineering , chemistry , geology , chromatography , ecology , biology , environmental remediation
Soil vapor extraction (SVE) systems are typically designed based on the results of a vadose‐zone pumping test (transient or steady‐state) using a pressure criterion to establish the zone of influence (ZOI). A common problem associated with pressure‐based SVE design is overestimating the ZOI of the extraction well. As a result, design strategies based upon critical pore‐ gas velocity (CPGV) have become more common. Field tests were conducted at the Savannah River Site (SRS) to determine the influence of a vapor extraction well based upon both a pressure and pore‐ gas velocity design criterion. The results from these tests show that an SVE system designed based upon a CPGV is more robust and will have shorter cleanup times due to increased flow throughout the treatment zone. Pressure‐based SVE design may be appropriate in applications where soil gas containment is the primary objective; however, in cases where the capture and removal of contaminated soil gas is the primary objective, CPGV is a better design criterion. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.