Case Studies - LA001 - Pneumatic Fracturing, SVE

Manufacturing Facility - Shreveport - Louisiana

Pneumatic Fracturing was utilized to improve the effectiveness of an existing extraction trench at a manufacturing facility where soil and groundwater were impacted with TCE. A 120-foot long by 20-foot deep extraction trench was drawing groundwater and TCE vapors from a sandy silt and silty clay formation. Pneumatic Fracturing was applied at successive intervals on one side of the trench to increase both the extraction rate of VOCs and the hydraulic conductivity of the formation. The project was completed in 1994, and the existing system is operative.

Pneumatic fracturing was demonstrated to increase both the permeability of the formation, as indicated by an increased flow rate, radius of influence, and the rate of TCE removal. It improved the hydraulic conductivity of the formation in an adjacent monitoring well by a factor of seven. The results of this increase were also observed in the remediation system, which extracted the groundwater at a higher flow rate. Application was conducted adjacent to an existing above ground hydrochloric acid tank. ARS carefully monitored the surface heave during fracturing to ensure that the structural integrity of the tank was not affected.

back