Journal of the Korean Society of Mineral and Energy Resources Engineers ISSN:2288-0291(Print) 2288-2790(Online) 한국자원공학회지

Vapors due to volatilization from a nonmobile nonaquesous phase liquid(NAPL) in the unsaturated zone can migrate considerable distance through the aerated pore act as a source of groundwater pollution. In order to investigate some of important factors affecting the development of a soil gas phase plume in the subsurface which results from the presence of a residual volatile organic compound(VOC) source, a finite-element based model is used. The multiphase flow equations are used to describe the flow regime, while the transport processes of diffusion, advection due to density gradients, advection due to vapor mass, and nonequilibrium phase partitioning are considered. Two-dimensional laboratory-scale simulations were performed to estimate soil gas phase plumes originated from an immobilized trichloroethylene(TCE) residual located in the unsaturated zone. The results of extensive simulations performed in this study demonstrate that significant variations in the distribution of gas phase concentrations could result from the vertical position of the contamination source and boundary condition of ground surface.