• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.45-53
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• 2006

This study was performed to evaluate the heating characteristics of soils for the application of electrical resistance heating process combined with soil vapor extraction. Laboratory tests were conducted to find out optimum heating conditions by the adjustment of electrical supply and electrode. Results show that fine soil particles are more efficient for electrical heating. As water content of soil increases, more efficient electrical heating is observed. However, as the soil is saturated with water above the soil porosity, decrease in the heating efficiency is observed. The higher the voltage, is and the shorter the distance between the electrodes is, the better the heating efficiency is. The soil contaminated by fuel is also more efficient than non-contaminated soil in electrical resistance heating. From the relationship between the intial electrical current and the conductivity obtained in this study, soil temperature by electrical heating can be estimated.