SEEPAGE AND GAS DIFFUSION OF VOLATILE ORGANIC COMPOUNDS IN UNSATURATED SOILS

Abstract

The researches of contaminants' behaviors in unsaturated soils are important to remove the contaminants effectively. A series of column tests was conducted to understand the mechanisms for seepage and gas diffusion behaviors of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in unsaturated soils. The result of seepage tests yielded that pemeability of VOCs in loam, which has high warter-holding capacity, is strongly affected by degree of water saturation, but less affected in silica sand and Toyoura sand. Besides, gas diffusion tests indicated that diffusion coefficients of VOCs gas differ in the various kinds of speciments even they are prepared at a same porosity.