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GeoSiphon^TM groundwater remediation system hydraulics

¹ Westinghouse Savannah River Company, Building 773-42A, Aiken, South Carolina, 29808; mark.phifer{at}srs.gov
² Westinghouse Savannah River Company, Building 773-42A, Aiken, South Carolina, 29808
³ Westinghouse Savannah River Company, Building 773-42A, Aiken, South Carolina, 29808
⁴ Westinghouse Savannah River Company, Building 786-5A, Aiken, South Carolina, 29808
⁵ Westinghouse Savannah River Company, Building 773-42A, Aiken, South Carolina, 29808

Mark A. Phifer has 20 years of environmental and geotechnical experience. He has been at the Savannah River National Laboratory for 10 years developing, deploying, and evaluating environmental remediation and radioactive waste disposal technologies. Phifer is a South Carolina registered professional engineer. His B.S. and M.S. degrees in civil engineering are from the Tennessee Technological University and the University of Tennessee.Ralph Nichols has 17 years of environmental experience. He has been at the Savannah River National Laboratory for 17 years where he has conducted research related to soil and groundwater characterization and remediation. He received a B.S. degree in geological engineering from the University of Missouri–Rolla and an M.S. degree in civil engineering from the University of Oklahoma.

Frank C. Sappington has 22 years of civil engineering experience. He has been in the Savannah River National Laboratory for 10 years developing, deploying, and testing new groundwater remediation technologies, horizontal and vertical barrier systems, and groundwater extraction systems. His B.S. degree in civil engineering is from the Southern Polytechnic State University.

John Steimke has 27 years of fluid mechanics experience. He has been in the Savannah River National Laboratory for 27 years, involved with nuclear reactor fluid mechanics and traditional chemical engineering. His Ph.D. in chemical engineering is from the University of Houston.

William E. Jones has 16 years of environmental hydrogeology experience. He has been at the Savannah River National Laboratory for 7 years, involved in hydrogeologic and geochemical characterization, radioactive waste disposal, and environmental remediation design and implementation. Jones is a registered professional geologist in South Carolina. His B.A. degree in anthropology and M.S. degree in geology are from East Carolina University.

Two pilot-scale, GeoSiphon^TM systems have been installed and tested for the treatment of contaminated groundwater at the Savannah River Site. These systems consisted of an in-situ treatment cell located in an area of higher hydraulic head and a siphon connecting the cell to a surface stream at a lower hydraulic head. The siphon induced contaminated groundwater flow through a permeable treatment media in the cells and transported the treated water to the discharge points in a surface stream. The hydraulic head available to drive the systems is divided between the head losses associated with the aquifer-treatment cell and siphon. Six different treatment cell configurations and seven different siphon configurations have been hydraulically evaluated in association with the two pilot-scale systems and are described herein.

These pilot-scale systems demonstrated that GeoSiphon^TM systems can treat any contaminant for which an appropriate permeable treatment media is available and can be applied to shallow groundwater contaminant plumes (no deeper than 7.6 m [25 ft]), where at least a few feet of head differential can be exploited. The systems could typically be applied in flood plains.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				J. C. Seaman, B. B. Looney, and M. K. Harris Research in Support of Remediation Activities at the Savannah River Site Vadose Zone J., May 17, 2007; 6(2): 316 - 326. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]