TRANSPORT AND DISSOLUTION OF DENSE NON-AQUEOUS PHASE LIQUID IN FRACTURED POROUS MEDIA: OBSERVATIONS AND PRELIMINARY RESULTS

A rising concern in the scientific community is the remediation of Dense Non-Aqueous Phase Liquid (DNAPL) in fractured porous media. The behavior of this type of contaminant in fractured systems is poorly understood, yet it is very important for understanding contaminant transport processes and for design of in situ remedial systems. In order to develop effective remediation methods for these conditions it is important to understand how DNAPL moves through fractures in both the NAPL phase and the dissolved phase. To date, little research has experimentally assessed the behavior of DNAPL dissolution in fractures. The presentation reports the results of a 3-D experiment of DNAPL movement, dissolution, and subsequent solute transport in fractured rock. We present visual observations on DNAPL infiltration and emplacement, results of conservative tracer experiments in the 3-D system, and preliminary results of DNAPL dissolution in an experimental fractured rock system.