Journal of Contaminant Hydrology, 4 (1989) 333-345

Elsevier Science Publishers B.V., Amsterdam - - Printed in The Netherlands

333

SOIL P O L L U T I O N BY P E T R O L E U M P R O D U C T S , I. M U L T I P H A S E
M I G R A T I O N OF K E R O S E N E C O M P O N E N T S IN SOIL C O L U M N S

A.J. ACHER, P. BODERIE and B. YARON

Department of Organic and Residues Chemistry, Institute of Soils and Water, Agricultural
Research Organization, The Volcani Center, Bet-Dagan 50250, Israel
(Received February 10, 1988; revised and accepted January 25, 1989)

ABSTRACT
Acher, A.J., Boderie, P. and Yaron, P., 1989. Soil pollution by petroleum products, I. Multiphase
migration of kerosene components in soil columns. J. Contam. Hydrol., 4: 333-345.
A laboratory study of soil contamination by a synthetic "kerosene" is reported. Soil (Mediterranean red sandy clay) samples with different moisture contents (0.0, 0.8, 4.0, and 12%, w/w) were
contaminated by vapors and/or liquid from a mixture containing 5 kerosene components (m-xylene,
pseudo-cumene, t-butylbenzene, n-decane and n-dodecane). The contribution of the different
kerosene components to the adsorption, volatilization and transport processes is described. Vapor
adsorption was found to be dependent on the vapor concentration of each component (except for
the n-decane), and on the soil moisture content. The sorption coefficients of the kerosene
components decreased with increasing temperature but showed only a very slight variability
between 20 and 34C, in air-dried soil. The volatilization from soil was high: more than 90% of the
aromatic components were desorbed in less than 2 h. The transport of the kerosene, in liquid and
vapor phases, through the soil columns, was studied using amounts of kerosene which were less
(1 mL) or more (10 mL) than the retention capacity of the soil columns. The increase in the moisture
content of the soil increased the rate and the depth of kerosene downward penetration. It stopped
however, the vapor movement (at 4%) and the upward liquid movement (at 12%). Among the
properties of the kerosene components, volatility seems to be the prime factor which determines
kerosene movement once liquid phase movement has ceased.

INTRODUCTION
T h e e v e r i n c r e a s i n g u s e of p e t r o l e u m p r o d u c t s r e q u i r e s h u g e s t o r a g e a n d
t r a n s p o r t f a c i l i t i e s . T h e t h r e a t of p o l l u t i o n i m p o s e d b y t h e p r e s e n c e of s u c h
i n s t a l l a t i o n s a n d t h e r e p o r t e d c a s e s of soil a n d g r o u n d w a t e r p o l l u t i o n by
a c c i d e n t a l s p i l l a g e h a s p r o m p t e d a n i n c r e a s e d i n t e r e s t i n t h e fate of s u c h
p r o d u c t s i n soil a n d w a t e r .
I n h i s r e v i e w o n m i g r a t i o n i n t h e v a d o s e z o n e of o r g a n i c fluids i m m i s c i b l e
w i t h w a t e r , S c h w i l l e (1984) p o i n t e d o u t t h a t ~ ' g a s o l i n e p o s s e s s e s a h i g h
v o l a t i l i t y t h e effect of w h i c h h a s b e e n l a r g e l y u n d e r e s t i m a t e d u p u n t i l n o w " .
I n a d d i t i o n , s o m e c a s e s t u d i e s r e c e n t l y d e s c r i b e d i n t h e l i t e r a t u r e (e.g.,
R e i c h m u t , 1984; M a r r i n a n d T h o m p s o n , 1984; B i s q u e , 1984; H i n c h e e a n d

0169-7722/89/$03.50

~ 1989 Elsevier Science Publishers B.V.

334

Reisinger, 1985; Wittman et al., 1985) described the effect of volatile organic
compounds in the contamination of porous media and groundwater. Bossert
and Bartha (1984), suggested that infiltration through porous media limits and
reduces the rate of evaporative losses of volatile hydrocarbons. The impact of
volatilization in determining the fate of petroleum constituents in soils was
reported in the review of McGill et al. (1981). Abriola and Pinder (1985 a,b)
introduced a simulation model for multiphase flow in porous media. The same
authors comprehensively reviewed the existing data on the transport of waterimmiscible compounds in the subsurface (Pinder and Abriola, 1986). A recent
study of Corapcioglu and Baehr (1987) includes a comprehensive mathematical
model which describes the fate and transport of a petroleum product in the
subsurface environment. In this model, the transport of the contaminant can
occur as a solute in soil water, as a vapor in soil air and as a component within
the immiscible liquid phase. Finally, Baehr (1987) utilized a two-dimensional
radially symmetric transport model to analyze vapor dissipation to the
atmosphere and the role of vapor transport in defining the contamination
potential of an oil spill.
Despite the major importance that the gaseous phase seems to play in the
transport and redistribution of petroleum components in porous media, its
effect has been little studied experimentally. For example, the recent studies on
the movement of hydrocarbons in the unsaturated zone carried out by Barbee
and Brown (1986) did not consider the simultaneous liquid and gaseous
transport.
The work reported here, is part of a study carried out in our laboratory on
soil pollution by petroleum products. The aim of this study is to accumulate
knowledge on physical and chemical processes acting in the unsaturated zone
and at its interface with the groundwater. The final aim is to learn how to
handle and minimize the adverse impacts from an accidental spill or release of
petroleum products in soils or groundwater.
The paper described the contribution of the different kerosene components
(in liquid and/or gaseous phases) toward the physico-chemical processes
involved in the pollution of soil.
MATERIALS AND METHODS

Soil
The soil used in the experiments was a Mediterranean Red sandy-clay
containing 12% clay, 4% silt, 84% sand and 0.5% organic matter with a specific
surface area of 50m2g 1, from Bet-Dagan. Before use, the soil was ground,
sieved (50 mesh) and oven-dried, at 110C for 24 hours (0.0% moisture), or
air-dried at 22C until the moisture content equilibrated (0.8%). Subsequently,
part of the air dried soil was wet up to 4.0% or to its field capacity (12%,
0.33 bar). The water content figures are gravimetric values (w/w).

335
TABLE 1
Chemical composition and physical properties of "kerosene".
Component

m-Xylene

ps-Cumene

t-but-Benzene

n-Decane

n-Dodecane

mol. wt, (g)

boil. pt. (C)
density (g cm-3)
vol. ratio (%)
mol. ratio (%)

106.2
139.0
0,864
6.67
10.28

120.2
169.0
0,877
6.67
9.22

134.2
169,0
0,867
6.67
8.17

142.3
173.0
0,730
40.0
38.91

170.3
216.0
0.750
40.0
33.41

8.48
0.98
1.9

2.94
0.34
1.0

44.16
5.10
1.46

1.12
0.13
0.23

0.04
0.8

0.03
0.5

sat. gas atmosphere a

relative vol. ratio
conc. (pLL 1)
vapor pres. (mmHg)

43.4
5.0
6.8

water solubility~
sing. comp. (pLL 1)
in mixture (#LL 1)

160.0
10.0

56.0
3.5

23.0
1.5

a at 27C, ~at 22C.

"Kerosene"
Kerosene consists of a mixture of more than 100 different hydrocarbons
which are difficult both to identify and quantify. We chose to use a synthetic
"kerosene" having the same ratio of the aromatic and aliphatic components
(20:80) as natural kerosene but comprising only five well defined components.
The following considerations were taken into account in the selection of
"kerosene" components: their presence in natural kerosene; the penetration
rate in soil columns relative to that of natural kerosene; and good chromatographic resolution. The chemical composition and the physical properties of
the "kerosene" components used in this study are given in Table 1.

Oil blue liquid

This organic dye solution (in xylene, product of Du Pont De Nemours,
Petroleum Chem. Div., Wilinghton, USA, catalog # DR-9399-C), was used in
column experiments filled with soil having 4 or 12% moisture content.

Experimental procedure
(a) Adsorption experiments with the "kerosene" vapor were carried out in
Erlenmeyer flasks (250 mL) fitted with ground-glass stoppers containing ovenor air-dried soil samples (10 g). Each flask contained an open test tube with 2 mL
"kerosene" whose vapors saturated the atmosphere above the soil. The flasks
were tightly closed and kept for 7 days at different temperatures (7, 17, 27 and
34C). The experiments were carried out in 3 replications.
(b) Volatilization experiments. After the "kerosene" constituents were
adsorbed from the vapor phase onto samples of air-dried soil (as described

336
above) the Erlenmeyer flasks were opened to the atmosphere. The test tubes
were removed and the soil samples analyzed for hydrocarbons content after 2
and 16 hours.
(c) Transport experiments. These experiments were carried out in soil
columns, using 2 different amounts of "kerosene". When the amount applied
was less (c.1) or larger (c.3) than the "oil retention capacity" of the soil
(Schwille, 1984), we called the "kerosene" movement in unsaturated or
saturated conditions, respectively (the terms unsaturated and saturated
conditions are not used here in the sense of groundwater hydrology). The term
"oil retention capacity" of the soil indicates maximum sorptive capacity and
fluid retention (in pores spaces). All the transport experiments were carried out
in duplicate.
(c.1) "Kerosene" movement in soil columns - - unsaturated conditions.
Transport experiments were performed in glass columns (35 cm length, 2.16 cm
I.D.). The soil (155g) was introduced into the glass column using a funnel
connected with a rubber tube (30 cm). By gradually raising the funnel, the soil
was packed into the column from the bottom upward, avoiding the gravitational fractionation of its particles. This resulted in a packing density of
1.40gcm 3. Four different levels of soil moisture content were used in the
column experiments: 0.0, 0.8, 4.0 and 12.0%. To obtain columns with soil at field
capacity, the air-dried soil columns were water saturated from below and left
on a dried sand bed to equilibrate for a week. The columns were vertically
levelled and closed with rubber stoppers at both ends. The "kerosene" (1 mL)
was applied dropwise from a syringe by piercing the upper stopper. This
amount of 1.0mL was experimentally determined to be lower than the
"kerosene" retention capacity of the soil column at any moisture content of the
soil. The columns were kept at constant temperature (22C).
The advance of the liquid fronts was visually observed on the columns
packed with oven- and air-dried soils. In the columns filled with moist soil (4
and 12% moisture content), it was not possible to see the advance of the liquid
"kerosene" front. To visualize the front, the kerosene dye, previously
described, was applied to the inner wall of the glass column as lines on
opposing sides of the column. After drying in an oven (150C), for 10 rain, the
columns were packed with soil. As the liquid "kerosene" moved through the
moist soil it dissolved the dye on the wall of the column enabling one to mark
its advance.
(c.2) Redistribution of the "kerosene" components. The effect of soil
moisture (0.0, 0.8 and 12%) on the redistribution of "kerosene" components in
soil columns was studied at different times (5, 7, 14, 21, 25, 30 and 46 days) after
the initial "kerosene" addition. By the end of the experiments, the soil from
each column was extruded and divided into 8 layers, which were extracted and
analyzed separately, as described in the following analytical procedure.
(c.3) "Kerosene" movement in soil columns - - saturated conditions. An
amount of "kerosene" (10 mL), which was previously found to be greater than
the "kerosene retention capacity" of the soil column, was applied on the soil

337
surface. The experiments were carried out using soil at two different moisture
contents: air-dried and field capacity. The preparation of columns and the
experiments were carried out as described above (c.1).
(c.4) The upward movement of "kerosene" in soil columns. Soil columns
[prepared as described above (c.1)], were filled with soil at different moisture
contents (0.0, 0.8, 4.0 and 12%) and "kerosene" (1 mL) was added. The columns
were then arranged vertically with the pollutant layer at the bottom, so that
the advancement of the ~kerosene" was opposite to the gravitational pull. The
experiments using these columns were performed in a manner similar to those
investigating the downward movement of ~'kerosene" (c.1).

Analytical procedure
Volatization losses of ~'kerosene" constituents during sample handling can
lead to erroneous analytical results. Therefore, the handling of samples
containing '~kerosene" (soil, water, air) was performed using methods to
prevent such losses.

"Kerosene" extraction from the soil

Soil samples from the adsoprtion, volatization and transport experiments
were extracted in Erlenmayer flasks (250mL). For the soil samples from the
adsorption experiments the following procedure was used: immediately after
opening the flask, the test tube containing "kerosene" was removed. Water
( l m L per g soil), and then carbon tetrachloride (2 mL per g soil), were added
and the flask tightly closed (with a ground glass stopper and teflon tape) and
placed in a laboratory shaker for 2 hours. Then, sodium chloride (0.5 g per g
soil) was added and the flask again closed and shaken for another 5 minutes.
An aliquot of the carbon tetrachloride layer (1-2mL) was transferred into a
5-mL screw cap vial (with aluminium liner) to which anhydrous sodium sulfate
and aluminium oxide (H, basic, type E) were added (to remove water and
extractable organic, respectively). This sample was then used for "kerosene"
analytical quantifications. The soil samples from volatilization and transport
experiments were extracted using the same procedure.

Gas chromatographic determination

The carbon tetrachloride extract of the '~kerosene" from the soil sample was
analyzed chromatographically. Aliquots (3 ttL) were injected into a Varian 3300
Gas Chromatograph equipped with a 30-M DB-1 column (i.d. 0.53mm). The
chromatography was performed in a temperature programmed regime, from 35
to 150C with a heating rate of 5C min 1. The carrier gas was nitrogen, while
hydrogen and air provided the combustion mixture for the flame ionization
detector (FID); the flow rates for nitrogen, hydrogen and air, were 30, 30 and
300mLmin -1, respectively. The FID was connected to a Merck D-2000
integrator, which quantified the chromatogram peaks.

338
TABLE 2
V a p o r c o n c e n t r a t i o n of " k e r o s e n e " c o m p o n e n t s in j a r s a t m o s p h e r e at different t e m p e r a t u r e s
S a t u r a t e d a t m o s p h e r e composition ( p L L 1)

"Kerosene"
components

m-xylene
ps-cumene
t-but.-benzene
n-decane
n-dodecane

7C

17C

27C

34C

1.20
0.17
0.04
0.74
n.d.

2.90
0.65
0.24
2.65
0.08

5.00
0.98
0.34
5.10
0.13

7.80
1.50
0.62
7.10
0.24

R E S U L T S AND D I S C U S S I O N

The most important physico-chemical processes involved in the pollution of

soil by "kerosene" such as adsorption from the vapor phase, volatilization from
soil, transport and redistribution through soil column, are described.

(a) Adsorption from the vapor phase

Adsorption of "kerosene" components from the vapor phase onto soil as
affected by environmental factors such as temperature and soil moisture
content was studied in a closed system. The "kerosene" vapor concentrations
in jars atmosphere is given in Table 2. The amount of hydrocarbons adsorbed
per gram of soil after 7 days of contact with a saturated vapor atmosphere at
different temperatures (7, 17, 27 and 34C) and for two moisture contents: ovenand air-dried soils, is given in Table 3. It may be observed that the adsorption
of the hydrocarbons from both aliphatic and aromatic groups increases with
the increase of ambient temperature. The increase in temperature increases the
vapor pressure of the hydrocarbons thus affecting their concentrations in the
TABLE 3
A d s o r p t i o n of v a p o r " k e r o s e n e " c o m p o n e n t s on soil, as affected by soil m o i s t u r e and t e m p e r a t u r e
( p g g 1)
Soil m o i s t u r e (%)

T = 7C

T = 17C

T = 27C

T = 34C

0.0 a

0,8 h

0.0 a

0.86

0.0 ~

0.8 h

0.0 a

0.86

200
130
50
430
30

40
40
15
100
10

390
185
120
510
55

90
80
47
130
20

800
345
210
440
130

110
100
60
130
35

1150
490
330
500
230

120
120
100
110
80

Components
m-xylene
ps-cumene
t-butyl-benzene
n-decane
n-dodecane
"oven-dried; b air-dried.

339

n-Decane
'
'

F\
z
i,i
o

c.)

n - Dodecane

1 ,oo

il,oo
o

m-Xylene
2 0 0 lq.__. ~

, o

' o

I O0 t,m__..___..
0 /
e:
o
o3

, -

8 0 0 ~o

ps-Curnene
,
,

,le

t- butyl - Benzene

15
25
TEMPERATURE (C)

7,5

MOISTURE CONTENT:
00.0%
eO.8 %
5

15
25
35
T E M P E R A T U R E (C)

Fig. 1. Sorption coefficient of the "kerosene" components in the soil, as affected by temperature and
soil moisture content.

atmosphere above soil surfaces and hence their adsorption. The amount
adsorbed on the oven-dried soil at the highest temperature (34C) showed the
following adsorption order: m-xylene > n-decane > pseudo-cumene > tbutylbenzene > n-dodecane. With the exception of n-decane (for air- and ovendried soil), all the hydrocarbons studied exhibited the tendency to be more
highly adsorbed on the soil surface at higher temperatures. The adsorption of
n-decane reaches its maximum at about 20C and no increase in the adsorption
was observed up to a temperature of 34C. The influence of the moisture content
of the soil on the adsorption of "kerosene" components on soil surface can also
be seen from the Table 3. The adsorption of hydrocarbons on the air-dried soil
was drastically decreased in comparison to the adsorption on oven-dried soil.
It may be observed, for example, that the adsorption of aromatic and aliphatic
compounds investigated at 34C on the air-dried soil is diminished by more than
a factor of 3 compared with their adsorption on oven-dried soil. This is probably
because the "kerosene" components (low solubility in water and low polarity)
are unable to compete with water molecules for the adsorption sites of the soil
solid phase. This behavior was also observed by Chiou and Soup (1985) for
benzene and its related compounds and for xylene by Barbee and Brown (1986)
on a Texas soil. The competition for soil adsorption sites between the
~'kerosene" constituents and water decreases the oil retention capacity of the
soil, thus increasing the penetration depth into soil. Figure 1 shows the effect
of temperature and soil moisture on sorption coefficient of "kerosene"

340
TABLE 4
Relative volatilization of "kerosene" components from air dried soil
"Kerosene"
components
m-xylene
ps-cumene
t-butyl-benzene
n-decane
n-dodecane

Lossesa (at 22C) after

2h

16h

99.0
94.0
92.5
71.5
14.3

99.3
99.7
99.7
89.5
61.3

aIn percentage from the amount adsorbed.

components. The sorption coefficient (component concentration on soil/vapor
concentrations in air) is lowered by a temperature increase, having the highest
value at 7C. For all the components, the presence of moisture in air-dried soil
(0.8%) drastically decreased the sorption coefficient, especially at lower temperatures; in the temperature range of 20-34C the sorption coefficients showed
very small variability.

(b) Volatilization from the adsorbed phase

" K e r o s e n e " constituents volatilize from the adsorbed phase after relatively
short periods of time. Table 4 shows the relative volatilization of the
" k e r o s e n e " constituents from soil into the atmosphere after 2 and 16 hours, at
22C. It may be observed t ha t in the open system more than 99% of the adsorbed
aromatic compounds (m-xylene, pseudo-cumene and t-butylbenzene) volatilize
in 2 hours. The aliphatic compounds have a lower rate of loss, especially
n-dodecane of which 40% remains after 16 hours.

(c.) Transport experiments in soil columns

The use of two sets of conditions (c.1, saturated and c.3, unsaturated), for
" k e r o s e n e " movement into soil columns enabled us to not only to study the
liquid and the vapor phase movement, but the dynamic redistribution of the
" k e r o s e n e " components as well.

(c.1) "Kerosene" movement in soil columns - - unsaturated conditions

During infiltration of liquid " k e r o s e n e " into the soil column there was
simultaneous, but faster, vapor movement of the " k e r o s e n e " components
producing a p ene t r at i on front in advance of the liquid. However, contamination by " k e r o s e n e " vapor was important only after the liquid movement
stopped. Twenty one days after " ke r os e ne " application to the oven-dried soil

341

g,o
~

~e

" 5 tl I /

nt

I -o.o %
2 - o.8",,

It'

"

3-

4.0"/,

6
8
I0 12
TIME (doys)

14

16

Fig. 2. T h e p e n e t r a t i o n of t h e " k e r o s e n e " - l i q u i d f r o n t in soil c o l u m n s , as affected by soil m o i s t u r e

c o n t e n t a n d time.

columns, the liquid front (observed visually) reached a depth of 9.4 cm, while
the vapor movement reached 25.0 cm. (as determined by soil extraction). For
the same period, in the column with air-dried soil, the above values were
12.3 cm and 32.0 cm, respectively. In the experiments in which the moisture
contents of the soil were 4 and 12%, the liquid front depths were 17.5 cm and
19.2 cm, respectively. In these cases there was no vapor movement in advance
of the liquid fronts. These results display a general behavior of "kerosene"
transport through the soil columns: an increase in the moisture content of the
soil decreased the ~kerosene" retention capacity, resulting in a deeper and
faster penetration of the liquid ~kerosene". However, for vapor-'kerosene"
movement, the increase in the soil moisture content above 4% completely
inhibited vapor penetration. These results are similar to those of Barbee and
Brown (1986) who reported that when xylenes were applied to a sandy loam soil
with a moisture content near field capacity, the hydrocarbons were retained by
the soil and their movement was significantly attenuated by the presence of
water in soil. Figure 2 shows the depth of the wetting front of the liquid
~kerosene" in soil columns of different moisture contents (0.0, 0.8, 4.0 and
12.0%, w/w), with time. The data show a decreasing rate of penetration with
time. At about 12 days following application no further advance of the wetting
front was observed as the amount of liquid '~kerosene" (lmL), originally
applied, depleted by soil retention capacity and the gravitational pressure head
became negligible. The data do not fit the classical infiltration equation (a
linear relationship between depth and xfi), since a constant "kerosene" head
was not maintained. As expected, from the slope of the infiltration curves, it
can be seen that the increase of the moisture content of the soil resulted in a
deeper and faster penetration of the liquid.

(c.2) "Kerosene" components redistribution in soil columns

When the liquid "kerosene" (1 mL) applied on the surface of the column was

342

0.1 0.2 0

C/C o
OJ 0.2 0

o.I

0.2

,o
I~I~'
~,~,
~/~~'
20
~o

'

,~

30

20

30

III

CI

I//

2(}2 ,
'

,~' , V

,b2 ,

o3

ii

,b3

,t

ii

Io
2o
3o
Fig. 3. Redistribution of "kerosene" components in soil columns as affected by soil moisture and
time. Numbers on curves represent days after '~kerosene" application. C ~ hydrocarbon amount
in each soil layer. CO - total hydrocarbon amount in the column. (a) = m-xylene; (b) n-decane;
(c) ~ ps-cumene; (d)
t-butylbenzene and (e) = n-dodeeane at (1) 0.0%, (2) 0.8% and (3) 12.0% soil
moisture content.
depleted and the wetting front ceased to advance, the vapor and the liquid
trapped in soil pores or adsorbed on the soil produced a redistribution of the
d i f f e r e n t " k e r o s e n e " c o m p o n e n t s a c c o r d i n g to a d y n a m i c s o i l - v a p o r a d s o r p tion-desorption equilibrium. This vapor movement resulted in a redistribution
o f t h e m o r e v o l a t i l e c o m p o n e n t s , h e n c e to a c h a n g e i n t h e r e s i d u a l " k e r o s e n e "
composition. Figure 3 shows the redistribution in soil columns of different soil
m o i s t u r e c o n t e n t s (0.0, 0.8 a n d 12%) o v e r d i f f e r e n t t i m e p e r i o d s ( u p t o 46 d a y s )
o f a l l t h e " k e r o s e n e " c o m p o n e n t s (a - - m - x y l e n e , b - - p s - c u m e n e , c - - t - b u t benzene, d -- n-decane, e -- n-dodecane). The amount of each component (C)
(from each layer of the soil column), divided by the total amount of that
c o m p o n e n t i n t h e e n t i r e c o l u m n (Co) w a s p l o t t e d v e r s u s t h e c o r r e s p o n d i n g

343
column layer depth (cm). The redistribution of '~kerosene" components mostly
depends on their volatility. So, the redistribution of m-xylene is very similar to
t h at of n-decane. The same can be observed between t-butylbenzene and ndodecane curves, while ps-cumene redistribution curve is somewhere between
a and c curves.
In the soil column at field capacity it was observed that both aliphatic and
aromatic hydrocarbons remained in the upper 20 cm layer and their redistribution with time occurs only to this depth.
The movement of '~kerosene" in oven and air dried soil columns is different.
It may be observed t ha t independent of their properties the ~kerosene"
components moved faster and deeper in air-dried rat her than in the oven-dried
soil columns. This behavior agrees with the adsorption pattern already
described above. The extent of redistribution with depth is affected by the
h y d r o c a r b o n properties. In the case of oven dried soils, the penetration of the
~kerosene" products follows the
order: m-xylene > n-decane > pscumene > t-butylbenzene > n-dodecane. This behavior is in accordance with
the vapor pressure (Table 1), the vapor concentration and the adsorption order
of the ~kerosene" constituents. In the case of the columns packed with air dried
soil the redistribution of the ~'kerosene" components is only slightly affected
by their volatility.
(c.3) "Kerosene" movement in soil columns - - saturated conditions
The high amount of ~'kerosene" applied (10mL) to the soil columns
increased the gravitational pressure head, hence the rate of penetration. In
these experiments, the penetration of " ke rosene" through the whole soil
column took only 3.0 and 1.8 hours for air-dried and field capacity soils,
respectively. The leachates and the samples from different soil layers were
chromatographically analyzed but did not show any clear change in their
composition. As expected an increase in soil moisture content increases the
downward p e n e t r a t i o n rate of ~kerosene" into the soil columns.
(c.4) U p w a r d movement of "kerosene" in soil columns
This series of experiments was carried out in order to simulate the pollution
of the soil when a '~kerosene" lens lying upon the groundwater is the source
of pollution. Since the direction of kerosene penetrations is against gravitational forces, only upward force acting is capillarity. In this case the rate of
the advance of the liquid front was slower by about 20% than that for
downward movement. An increase in the moisture content of the soil resulted
in a decrease of the upward rate of penetration. For samples taken 21 days after
~kerosene" application the heights of infiltration were 7.0, 4.5 and 0.5 cm for
0.0%, 0.8% and 4% moisture contents, respectively. On the other hand the gas
phase extended upwards 23.0 and 30.0 cm for oven- and air-dried soils, respectively. The 4% moisture content also proved to be a barrier for upwards vapor
penetration, while soil at field capacity prevented any ~kerosene" upward
movement at all.

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CONCLUSIONS

In all the physico-chemical processes involved in the soil contamination by

"kerosene", the most influential factor was the moisture content of the soil. Its
increase resulted in a drastic decrease in the adsorption of the vapor
components of the "kerosene", an increase in the rate and depth of the
downward penetration of the liquid-"kerosene" through the soil columns, a
decrease of the upward movement of the liquid "kerosene" and a decrease of
vapor "kerosene" movement.
The increase in vapor concentration brought about by higher temperatures
increased the amount of vapor "kerosene" components adsorbed by the soil,
however, the sorption coefficient was decreased.
The volatility of the "kerosene" components seems to be the prime factor in
the redistribution process once liquid phase movement has ceased.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This study was supported by a grant from the National Council for Research
and Development, Israel, and the Deutsche Forschungs- and Versuchsanstald
fuer Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V., Koeln-Porz, Germany.
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