Establishment of Contaminant Degradation Rates is Soils Using Temperature Gradients, Associated Methods, Systems and Devices

摘要

The disclosed apparatus, systems and methods relate to estimating the rate of biodegradation of contaminants in the ground by measuring thermal gradients in the vadose zone where heat is produced by biodegradation reactions, and averaging over a full seasonal period, such as one year or one seasonal cycle, in which the groundwater temperatures and surface temperatures vary in a cyclical manner. Exemplary embodiments correct for the delay required by the heat being produced in the ground to reach the locations where the temperature gradients are measured, and also cancels out the signal noise caused by the changing surface and groundwater temperatures. In further embodiments, a mathematical model is a provided to test the validity of the invention on two example sites.

主权项

1. A system for establishing a rate of contaminant biodegradation in a reactive zone having a soil volume, comprising:
a. at least two temperature sensors configured to record soil data of the reactive zone; b. a database, the database configured to store the soil data; c. a central processor in communication with the database; and d. reaction rate estimation software configured to calculate the rate of contaminant biodegradation from the soil data by establishing:
i. temperature gradients of the reactive zone; andii. time integrated thermal heat flux of the reactive zone over a temporal cycle.