Monitoring the injection of microscale zero-valent iron particles for groundwater remediation by means of complex electrical conductivity imaging

Abstract:

The injection of nano- and microscale zerovalent iron (ZVI) particles has emerged as a promising technique for groundwater remediation. In particular, ZVI injections offer a suitable alternative for the remediation of areas not accessible with other techniques, such as areas characterized by low hydraulic conductivity. In such cases, the injection is performed at high pressure in order to create preferential flow paths (i.e., fractures). Particle injection via fracturing demands an adequate monitoring of the ZVI delivery to track the migration path of the particles as well as to delineate the extension and distribution of the iron slurry. However, characterization of ZVI injections is to date based mainly on the analysis of groundwater and soil samples, thus, limiting the spatio-temporal resolution of the investigation and making it not suitable for real-time monitoring. To overcome this, here we present the application of the complex conductivity (CC) imaging method to characterize the delivery of guar gum stabilized microscale ZVI (GG-mZVI) particles during a field-scale injection by hydraulic fracturing. Our results demonstrated that CC images provide not only an improved characterization of the contaminant distribution, but also valuable information to identify the migration pathway of the injected GG-mZVI. The relatively short acquisition time of CC datasets permitted to obtain monitoring data with enhanced temporal resolution, i.e., after each injection (every ~15 minutes), while still covering an extended area of investigation in comparison to conventional geochemical monitoring by means of soil and water samples. As presented in Figure 1, the CC images revealed an increase (~20%) in the induced electrical polarization (Φ), upon delivery of ZVI into the targeted area, due to the accumulation of ZVI. Furthermore, larger changes (>50%) occurred in shallow sediments, a few meters away from the injection, suggesting the migration of particles through preferential flowpaths. Correlation of the electrical response and geochemical data, in particular the analysis of recovered cores from drilling after the injection, confirmed the migration of particles (and stabilizing solution) to shallow areas through fractures formed during the injection.