MASS-FLOW OF A VOLATILE ORGANIC LIQUID-MIXTURE IN SOILS

The flow of kerosene, a volatile organic liquid mixture (VOLM), was st udied in loam and clay soils and in a medium sand. The kerosene residu al capacity and conductivity were determined for all three media at di fferent initial moisture contents and with kerosene of different compo sitions. The kerosene conductivity of the soil was found to be strongl y influenced by the soil texture and initial moisture content as well as by the kerosene composition. The kerosene conductivity of the sand was two orders of magnitude greater than that of the soils and was una ffected by initial moisture contents as high as field capacity. The ke rosene conductivity of the loam soil was similar in oven dry and air d ry soils, but increased significantly in soils at 70% and full field c apacity due to the Yuster effect. In the clay soil the kerosene conduc tivity of the air dry soil was four times that of the oven dry soil an d increased somewhat in the soil at 70% field capacity. No kerosene fl ow was observed in the oven dry soil at full field capacity. The diffe rences in kerosene conductivity in these soils and the effect of moist ure content were attributed to the different pore-size distributions o f the soils. Changes in the composition of the kerosene due to volatil ization of the light fractions resulted in increased viscosity of the residual kerosene. This increased viscosity affected the fluid propert ies of kerosene, which resulted in decreased kerosene conductivity in the sand and the soils.