Characterization of organic contaminants in porous media using nuclear magnetic resonance and spectral induced polarization measurements.

Abstract:

The remediation and monitoring of soils and groundwater contaminated with organic compounds is an important goal of many environmental restoration efforts. This laboratory research focuses on combining two innovative geophysical methods: nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and spectral induced polarization (SIP) to assess their suitability to characterize and quantify organic contaminants in porous media. Toluene, a light non-aqueous phase liquid (LNAPL), and ethoxy-nonafluorobutane, an engineered dense non-aqueous phase liquid (DNAPL), have been selected as representative organic contaminants. Low-field NMR relaxation time (T₂) measurements and diffusion-relaxation (D-T₂) correlation measurements, as well as low frequency SIP measurements (<10 kHz) are performed to quantify the amount of these two organic compounds in the presence of water in three types of porous media (sands, clay, and various sand-clay mixtures). The T₂, D-T₂, and SIP measurements are made on water, toluene, and the synthetic DNAPL in each porous media to understand the effect of different porous media on the NMR and SIP responses in each fluid. We then plan to make measurements on water-organic mixtures with varied concentrations of organic compounds in each porous medium to resolve the NMR and SIP response of the organic contaminants from that of water and to quantify the amount of organic contaminants. Building a relationship between SIP and NMR signatures from organic contaminants not only provides a fundamental yet important petrophysical relationship, but also builds a framework for continued investigation into how these two methods synergize. This will also provide spatially dense information about organic contaminated natural sediments at scales that will improve the quantitative characterization and remediation of contaminated sites.The remediation and monitoring of soils and groundwater contaminated with organic compounds is an important goal of many environmental restoration efforts. This laboratory research focuses on combining two innovative geophysical methods: nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and spectral induced polarization (SIP) to assess their suitability to characterize and quantify organic contaminants in porous media. Toluene, a light non-aqueous phase liquid (LNAPL), and ethoxy-nonafluorobutane, an engineered dense non-aqueous phase liquid (DNAPL), have been selected as representative organic contaminants. Low-field NMR relaxation time (T₂) measurements and diffusion-relaxation (D-T₂) correlation measurements, as well as low frequency SIP measurements (<10 kHz) are performed to quantify the amount of these two organic compounds in the presence of water in three types of porous media (sands, clay, and various sand-clay mixtures). The T₂, D-T₂, and SIP measurements are made on water, toluene, and the synthetic DNAPL in each porous media to understand the effect of different porous media on the NMR and SIP responses in each fluid. We then plan to make measurements on water-organic mixtures with varied concentrations of organic compounds in each porous medium to resolve the NMR and SIP response of the organic contaminants from that of water and to quantify the amount of organic contaminants. Building a relationship between SIP and NMR signatures from organic contaminants not only provides a fundamental yet important petrophysical relationship, but also builds a framework for continued investigation into how these two methods synergize. This will also provide spatially dense information about organic contaminated natural sediments at scales that will improve the quantitative characterization and remediation of contaminated sites.