Nonaqueous Phase Liquid Pool Dissolution in Subsurface Formations

Abstract

The objective of this chapter is to present some recent developments on nonaqueous phase liquid (NAPL) pool dissolution in water saturated subsurface formations. Closed form analytical solutions for transient contaminant transport resulting from the dissolution of a single component NAPL pool in three-dimensional, homogeneous porous media are presented for various shapes of source geometries. The effect of aquifer anisotropy and heterogeneity as well as the presence of dissolved humic substances on mass transfer from a NAPL pool is discussed. Furthermore, correlations, based on numerical simulations as well as available experimental data, describing the rate of interface mass transfer from single component NAPL pools in saturated subsurface formations are presented.