Abstract
Solute transport experiments were conducted in a one-dimensional saturated column using dissolved methoxy-nonafluorobutane (HFE-7100), a Novec engineered fluid developed by the 3M Corporation, as the solute. Novec engineered fluids are considered dense non-aqueous phase liquids (DNAPLs) because they are immiscible with water and have a specific gravity greater than one. The HFE-7100 fluid is safer and environmentally friendlier than common DNAPL contaminants such as tetrachloroethylene (PCE) or trichloroethylene (TCE); thus, it is an ideal substitute DNAPL for laboratory groundwater contamination research. Three sets of solute transport experiments were conducted. The first set of experiments was conducted in a glass-bead-packed column using dissolved HFE-7100 as the solute. The second set of experiments was conducted in a sand-packed column using dissolved HFE-7100 as the solute. The third set of experiments was conducted in a sand-packed column using dissolved PCE as the solute. The dissolved HFE-7100 column breakthrough concentrations were compared with dissolved PCE breakthrough concentrations. Results show that the one-dimensional solute transport equation was successful in describing the transport behavior of dissolved HFE-7100. This study demonstrates that the HFE-7100 fluid can be used as a safer substitute DNAPL for groundwater contaminant dissolution and transport research.
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Acknowledgements
The authors would like to acknowledge the 3M Corporation for providing the Novec fluids. The authors would also like to thank Dr. Joseph R. Stencel, Tsunghsiang Hsu and Hadi El-Khoury for contributing to the experiments. J.-Y. Lee and J. J. Mellett are grateful for graduate assistantships from the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department, Rutgers University.
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Lee, K.Y., Lee, JY. & Mellett, J.J. Transport of dissolved methoxy-nonafluorobutane through a saturated column. Env Geol 46, 883–889 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00254-004-1098-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00254-004-1098-9