Light non-aqueous phase liquid (LNAPL) transmissivity is a metric to quantify the hydraulic recoverability of LNAPL in the subsurface. LNAPL transmissivity is used through the remedial process for site assessment; definition of remedial objectives; remedy selection, design, and implementation; threshold evaluation; and, increasingly, as part of risk-based closure evaluations. Existing methods developed to date have been used to measure LNAPL transmissivity within granular porous media. However, their use has often failed to reliably quantify LNAPL transmissivity in fractured porous media. These failures in LNAPL transmissivity calculations neglected key measurements of the geometry and discharge rate for individual fractures containing mobile LNAPL.
FRACTioNTM, a (patent pending) modification of LNAPL transmissivity measurement and calculation methods designed for granular porous media has been developed to provide improved measurement of LNAPL transmissivity in fractured porous media at the individual fracture and aggregate well scales. Thus, this process will afford the use of LNAPL transmissivity as a metric to define if LNAPL hydraulic recovery is warranted for a given fracture or well throughout the remedial process.