--> Abstract: Capture Zone Theory in the Recovery of a Free Product Plume Resulting from an Underground Storage Tank Leak, by C. J. Coe and T. F. Jenkins; #90984 (1994).

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Abstract: Capture Zone Theory in the Recovery of a Free Product Plume Resulting from an Underground Storage Tank Leak

Curtis J. Coe, Thomas F. Jenkins

Capture zone theory has been used to recover a combined free product and dissolved hydrocarbon plume from the subsurface resulting from an underground storage tank leak in an urban area. Results of hydrostratigraphic mapping demonstrate that product lost into the subsurface was trapped in sand and gravel materials in a meander bend associated with a glacial outwash channel. Approximately 20,000 gal of gasoline and diesel fuel were lost to the subsurface. The vertical and horizontal extent of the free-product plume was mapped based on the observed oil saturated thickness in soil samples. The mapping indicated that the plume was wedge shaped, with a maximum thickness of free product in soil of 3.5 ft. Hydraulic data from pump tests and slug tests indicate that product migrated into perm able sediments associated with a meander bend. Low-permeability silt and clay materials surrounding the meander bend acted as a barrier preventing migration of the plume off-site. The ARMOS model and the CAPZONE model were used to determine the optimum location of product recovery wells and to evaluate the effect of boundary conditions on the safe yield of the outwash channel so that hydrocarbon recovery could be optimized over time.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90984©1994 AAPG Annual Convention, East Lansing, Michigan, September 18-20, 1994