Details:

Creators:
Sciortino, Antonell
Corporate Creators:
California State University, Long Beach. Department of Civil Engineering and Construction Engineering Management
Corporate Contributors:
California. Department of Transportation
Subject/TRT Terms:
[+]
California Diesel Fuels Environmental Aspects Groundwater Los Angeles Pollution Subsurface Drainage
Publication/ Report Number:
AR 06-04
Resource Type:
Tech Report
Geographical Coverage:
California
Corporate Publisher:
METRANS Transportation Center (Calif.)
Abstract:
Diesel is widely used as fuel for operations in the port of Los Angeles - Long

Beach as well as for transport of goods to and from the port. Conventional diesel fuel

contributes disproportional to air pollution (particulate matter, NOx, CO, and

hydrocarbons). The arrival of low-sulfur diesel, which is already widely available in

Japan and Europe, and other improvements in fuel and engine technology should

greatly decrease the adverse impact of diesel on air quality. Examples of modifications

are the use of diesel with ethanol as oxygenate (“diesohol”), biodiesel, and diesel with

catalytic additives. Each fuel has some merits that need to be weighed against potential

disadvantages. This proposal considers diesohol. Diesohol is already used in Europe

and Brazil and is being investigated for wider use in the United States and Australia. In

the past, scientists and decision makers were mainly concerned with the impact of

diesel and gasoline on air quality. However, even under the best of circumstances

release of diesel and fuel additives to the surface and subsurface environment cannot

be ruled out. Accidental spillage and leakage may occur during production, transport,

storage, handling, or use.

In this study we quantified the impact of the release of a potential new diesel fuel

on the movement and fate of contaminants in the aqueous phase of the unsaturated

(vadose) and saturated zone of the subsurface. Existing software was modified to

model subsurface flow in the vadose zone. The model accounts for the effect of

surfactants (ethanol and other fuel additives) on flow properties, and the dissolution of

diesel components (benzene in this case). The impact of ethanol on dissolution and

degradation of fuels compounds and pre-existing organic contaminants in the

groundwater has been analyzed using a model based on analytical solutions.

The results of the study for the unsaturated zone suggest that, for the most

common scenario of a particular water flux at the surface, water and dissolved

substances will move somewhat farther in the underground. Ethanol reduces the

amount of water that is retained by the porous medium. Furthermore, the concentration

of contaminants such as benzene may be greatly increased due to the enhanced

aqueous solubility. The analysis conducted for the saturated zone illustrated changes in

contaminant plumes due to enhanced solubility and reduced biodegradation caused by

ethanol. Contaminants such as benzene are more persistent in groundwater and the

plume area exhibits a moderate increase if ethanol is present.


Format:
PDF
Collection(s):
US Transportation Collection University Transportation Centers
Main Document Checksum:
[+]
urn:sha256:17e1aa3039f86c6d0301d2349f486b190c5051863f37894bf6852393b10030f5
Download URL:
https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/27685/dot_27685_DS1.pdf
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