MEASURING CONCENTRATION OF ORGANIC CONTAMINANTS IN UNSATURATED SOIL WITH A THERMO-TIME DOMAIN REFLECTOMETRY PROBE

Abstract

Contamination of soil and groundwater by organic contaminants usually appears when the contaminants have reached the groundwater table long time after they first started leaking from underground storage facilities. Since remediation of soil and groundwater takes much time and efforts, a sensor that can detect contaminants in soil in the early leaking stage has been desired. Currently-available sensors only detect contaminants under steady soil water content conditions. Using a thermo-time domain reflectometry (TDR) probe, a new technique was introduced to measure contaminants' concentration. The thermo-TDR probe detected ethanol concentration up to 50% (v/v) in a sandy soil variably saturated with water-ehtanol mixtures.