Development of an integrated, in-situ remediation technology: Task 2--4, electrokinetic modeling. Topical report, September 26--May 25, 1996

This report summarizes the work conducted in Tasks 2-4, which together make up the Electrokinetic Modeling carried out in this project. The modeling was divided into three main sections: thermal analysis, chemical species transport, and electrode geometry and soil heterogeneity issues. The thermal modeling consisted of development of the governing equations to incorporate Joule heating associated with electro-osmosis, heat conduction and convection, and temperature dependencies of electrical conductivity and electro-osmotic permeability. To model the transport of chemical species in the LasagnaTM process, a one-dimensional model was developed. This model is based on previous models, but includes additional mechanism to account for charge transfer in the double layer, pH buffering of the soil, and zeta potential dependency on pH and ionic strength. The results of this model and the corroboration by experimental measurement support some key assumptions made in the thermal model. An analysis was also conducted to compare the use of cylindrical electrodes to the plate geometry used in Phase I. In summary, cylindrical electrodes may be appropriate for anodes, because the do not intercept the flow. If used as cathodes, a planar treatment zone in their vicinity would probably be required. The cylindrical electrodes can operate at reasonable current densities without boiling water. Because the hottest region is at the electrode, cooling schemes could be used to operate at higher current densities. If iron anodes are used, they will have to be quite massive, and may not be economical compared to planar models. An example of soil heterogeneity was investigated when it was discovered that a steel pt was buried in the vicinity of the pilot test. There is some distortion of the field near the pit, but its effects on the test zone between the electrodes are minimal