159
Automated
Impedance Tomography for Monitoring Permeable Reactive Barrier Health--Multi-Phase
Technologies, LLC, 310 Rebecca Drive,
Sparks,
Mr.
Douglas LaBrecque, Principal Investigator, dlabrecque@mpt3d.com
Mrs.
Marjorie LaBrecque, Business Official, mlabrec913@yahoo.com
DOE
Grant No. DE-FG02-04ER84013
Amount:
$99,857
Although permeable reactive
barriers are an important new treatment option for groundwater remediation, no
reliable methods are available to monitor or predict their long-term behavior. The
large-scale implementation of reactive barriers will require a means of
monitoring their long-term degradation. For
example, gaps can occur in the placement of the reactive material, particularly
when construction methods such as jetting or deep soil mixing are used.
This project will develop a reliable method to
verify placement and monitor effectiveness of permeable reactive barriers. The
approach will use arrays of inexpensive electrodes, coupled to autonomously
operating hardware and software, to characterize the barrier and determine its
effectiveness. Phase I will conduct
column tests for monitoring the specific geochemical conditions and aging
of the chosen sites. The
requirements for data accuracy, sensor spacing, and borehole locations will be
determined using numerical modeling. A
fully autonomous system will be developed and a site will be chosen for a Phase
II field implementation.
Commercial
Applications and Other Benefits as described by the awardee:
The automated monitoring system should find use in more than 100
permeable reactive barriers that will have been installed in