Abstract
Experiments have been performed to investigate the sorption of trichloroethene (TCE) vapor by concrete material or, more specifically, the cement mortar component. Gas-flow experiments were conducted using columns packed with small pieces of cement mortar obtained from the grinding of typical concrete material. Transport and retardation of TCE at high vapor concentrations (500 mg L\(^{-1})\) was compared to that of a non-reactive gas tracer (Sulfur Hexafluoride, SF\(_{6})\). The results show a large magnitude of retardation (retardation factor \(=\) 23) and sorption (sorption coefficient \(=\) 10.6 cm\(^{3}\) g\(^{-1})\) for TCE, compared to negligible sorption for SF\(_{6}\). This magnitude of sorption obtained with pollutant vapor is much bigger than the one obtained for aqueous-flow experiments conducted for water-saturated systems. The considerable sorption exhibited for TCE under vapor-flow conditions is attributed to some combination of accumulation at the air-water interface and vapor-phase adsorption, both of which are anticipated to be significant for this system given the large surface area associated with the cement mortar. Transport of both SF\(_{6}\) and TCE was simulated successfully with a two-region physical non-equilibrium model, consistent with the dual-medium structure of the crushed cement mortar. This work emphasizes the importance of taking into account sorption phenomena when modeling transport of volatile organic compounds through concrete material, especially in regard to assessing vapor intrusion.
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Acknowledgments
This research was supported by the French National Research Agency (ANR-PRECODD FLUXOBAT). Additional support was provided by the U.S. NIEHS Superfund Research Program (Grant #ES 4940). The authors thank Jon Mainhagu and Hakan Akyol from the SWES department of University of Arizona, for their help on experimental measurements. We thank the Laboratoire de Chimie Agro-industrielle (LCA, ENSIACET) for the loan of the DVS apparatus, and especially Guadalupe Vaca Medina for her assistance. We thank also the Laboratoire des Matériaux et Durabilité des Constructions (LMDC, INSA Toulouse) for its participation on porosity measurements.
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Musielak, M., Brusseau, M.L., Marcoux, M. et al. Determination of Chlorinated Solvent Sorption by Porous Material—Application to Trichloroethene Vapor on Cement Mortar. Transp Porous Med 104, 77–90 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11242-014-0321-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11242-014-0321-8