Using water jet for increasing reactive barriers efficiency in contaminated soil: a preliminary evaluation

The water jet is a widely used technology in the dimensional stones industry, for cutting metals, glass, etc. This technique has been recently considered for soil disgregation/fracturation and, in general, for increasing soil permeability. A water-jet equipment consists of a pressurising unit connected with a lance which has a block at its free end in which two or more nozzles are inserted. The lance is inserted in the soil and a high-velocity water jet is produced that is able to destroy soil structure and/or to fracture/displace highly-compacted impermeable soils. One possibility is to increase the area of influence of reactive barriers. In this work, we present preliminary modeling results on the effects of water jets on the area of influence of wells. Our study is conducted through a set of numerical simulations. The evaluation is performed on the basis of variations produced from soil modifications on water injectable rate, area of influence of the chemical species that are transported, and on the amount of contaminant released in the soil. Finally, we discuss future developments in our study in terms of both modeling and laboratory experiments.