ABSTRACT
Ground water contamination is a serious environmental problem. This contamination results from agriculture as well as industry. Contaminants being either organic or inorganic exhibit particular characteristics. Clean up is specific to the contaminant and site. Conventional physical methods of remediation are proven, yet have some limitation. In contrast, there are a number of emerging technologies which show potential. An aquifer is a geological formation (soil, sand, gravel, rock) which contains ground water and can deliver it in sufficient, usable quantities. An aquifer can be shallow to the surface, situated in an area of highly permeable layers. This constitutes an unconfined aquifer. Stripping is a unit operation of mass transfer which enhances the separation of volatile compounds from solution. The process exploits the difference between the actual concentration and the equilibrium concentration of the dissolved compounds (gases, vapors) in water. The basic concept in a stripping process is to provide a liquid-vapor interface, the point at which phase change occurs.
