Technology

Risk, it's what moving

Measuring the concentration of a pollutant in the aquifer is necessary to quantify the extent of pollution, but measuring the flux is essential to characterize its dispersion.

A pollutant in low concentration but mobile presents a much greater risk than a highly concentrated but immobile pollution.


Our Flux technology

Direct flux measurement is carried out using a single-well tracer dilution technique.

A tracer is continuously injected into a piezometer and the concentration of this tracer is measured over time troughout the water column.

As the tracer is injected, its concentration will increase, then stabilise once equilibrium has been established between the tracer injected and the tracer carried out of the piezometer by the flux of groundwater passing through it

The groundwater flux is thus known and can be monitored continuously.

 

 

 

 

Thanks to a double packer system developed by Nagaré, it is also possible to sample groundwater and measure groundwater flux over specific part of the water column, in order to target a specific horizon.

By moving this system over the entire height of the water column, it is then very easy to obtain a vertical discretization of groundwater fluxes and calculate mass discharge.


Specificities

Acquisition time : 2h – 48 per well

Tracer : Salts, Fluorescent dyes

Diameter min. well : 2 inches

GW flux representative of all screen level OR

Vertical logging to target specific layer

Maximal depth : 100m

Monitoring of groundwater flux changes in existing wells


Which benefits ?

The flux measurements obtained with our technology are coupled with pollutant concentration measurements, enabling us to target the areas where pollutant discharge is greatest, i.e. where it presents a real risk.

Flux measurements could be then used to optimize a future management plan (monitoring or remediation) for the site, in that they could reduce the number of piezometers monitored or treated by targeting preferential discharge areas.




Scientific papers

https://orbi.uliege.be/handle/2268/233590

 

 

https://orbi.uliege.be/handle/2268/228050

 

 

https://orbi.uliege.be/handle/2268/246174

 

https://orbi.uliege.be/handle/2268/233590

 

And many more …

https://orbi.uliege.be/profile?uid=p005911