Emulsion Design Tool

Lecture Notes

As I mentioned, there are two basic injection layouts, grids for area treatment and barriers.

Injection grids are typically used to distribute emulsions in source areas.

While most of the oil will be distributed in the higher permeability zones, this approach does bring the oil in closer contact with the contaminants, reducing treatment time.

In addition, the oils will ferment to hydrogen and acetate which can diffuse into lower permeability zones, stimulating biodegradation.

Obviously, the better the contact between the oil and the contaminant, the more effective the treatment.

Potential disadvantages of the grid approach include the larger number of injection points and greater amount of emulsion required.

Also, since you must inject water to distribute the oil, there is a greater potential for displacement of contaminants.

Barriers consist of rows of wells aligned perpendicular to groundwater flow to intercept a contaminant plume.

Barriers can be used to prevent contaminated groundwater from crossing a boundary or a series of barriers can be used to cleanup an entire plume.

Advantages of barriers include fewer wells, less substrate, and lower potential for contaminant displacement.

A disadvantage of barriers is that the contaminant must migrate to the barrier, which increases the cleanup time.