Diesel oil volatilization processes affected by selected porous media

• Diesel oil volatilization from selected porous media was found to be boundary-layer regulated to some extent.
• The diesel oil volatilization rate coefficient was found to increase with decreasing mean grain size of the porous media.
• Wind speed, vessel diameter and mean grain size were in an equation describing diesel oil volatilization rate coefficient.

Volatilization plays an important role in attenuating petroleum products in contaminated soils. The objective of this study was to evaluate the influence of wind speed, vessel diameter and mean grain size of porous media on diesel oil volatilization. Experiments were conducted to investigate the volatilization behavior of diesel oil from porous media by weighing contaminated samples pre- and post-volatilization. Three selected field porous media materials were evaluated: Silty Clay Loam, Fine Sand, and Coarse Sand along with six individual sand fractions of the Coarse Sand. Results indicate that increasing wind speed accelerates the diesel oil volatilization process, especially for wind speeds below 2.10 m s−1. The low-carbon components of diesel oil volatilize more rapidly, with the effects of wind speed more pronounced on C10 to C15 volatilization than on C16 and higher. The volatilization rate coefficient of diesel oil increases with decreasing mean grain size of porous media, and with increasing vessel diameter. A power function expressed the relationship with mean grain size. All processes (wind speed, vessel diameter, and mean grain size) were included in an equation which explained over 92% of the measured diesel oil volatilization rate coefficient variations for the experiments. Diesel oil volatilization appears to be boundary-layer regulated to some extent.