Investigation on the implementation of an in situ process for the treatment of coal tar using standard mixture of surfactants in different CaCl2 concentrations

This (qualitative) research focuses on the investigation of the implementation of standard mixture of Alfoterra and Aerosol with different concentrations of CaCl2 as electrolyte, to be used in the future as in-situ technique for the removal of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from coal tar. The process will include the implementation of a standard mixture produced from two surfactants: Alfoterra 123-8S (3%) and Aerosol MA-80I (1%) using CaCl2 as electrolyte in in the range of 0-20000 ppm. The optimum conditions indicated that at 60 ± 1 oC the Winsor Type I system occurs between I1-I3 samples (0-600 mg/l CaCl2), a Winsor Type III system occurs between I4-I9 samples (1000-1900 mg/l CaCl2) and a Winsor Type II system occurs between I11-I14 samples (2500-10000 mg/l CaCl2). The final results point out, that a three phase system (Type III -aqueous phase, oleic phase, microemulsion) appears between 1000-1900 mg/l of CaCl2. Phase behaviour experiments, are extremely important, in both surfactant enhanced aquifer remediation and enhanced oil recovery applications, for the selection of the best optimal mixture of surfactant solution to applied for soil remediation.