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1,4-Dioxane Contamination and Remediation Overview

1,4-Dioxane is a synthetic chemical that was primarily used as a stabilizer for 1,1,1-trichloroethane and is therefore often found at with chlorinated solvent contamination.  It has a also been used as an alternative to tetrahydrofuran in some manufacturing processes.

Due to the physical properties (low sorption and high solubility), 1,4-dioxane in groundwater often travels much farther than other chlorinated solvents.

Applicable Remediation Technologies for 1,4-Dioxane

Physical

Air Sparging:  Poor to Good – While the vapor pressure is greater than 1 mm Hg, air sparging can be ineffective due to the high solubility and low Henry’s constant of 1,4-dioxane.  The key for air sparging to work is a significantly longer sparging residence time than compounds commonly treated with this technology.
 
SVE:  Poor – While the vapor pressure is greater than 1 mm Hg, SVE is ineffective due to the high solubility of 1,4-dioxane.  For SVE to be effective, the soils need to to be dry.
 
Thermal:  Good– Thermal processes can be used to increase the Henry’s constant for 1,4-dioxane, making it partition more readily into the vapor phase.
 
Pump and Treat:  Good  – Pump and treat is usually not an effective source remedy for groundwater remediation, when there is significant non-aqueous mass present (absorbed to soil or non-aqueous phase liquids).  As 1,4-dioxane is found primarily in the aqueous phase, this is one of the few compounds where pump and treat could be effective as a source reduction technology.
 

Biological

Aerobic:  Good – Has been shown to degrade via a cometabolic pathway, which often requires the presence of oxygen and a simple hydrocarbon (like propane), or directly through biodegradation.  Degradation can be inhibited by chlorinated ethenes or occurs very slowly.  Therefore not practical at all sites.

Anaerobic:  Poor – Has not been shown to be effective.

Absorption

Activated Carbon:  Poor – 1,4-Dioxane can adsorb to activated carbon in small quantities, making this method potentially cost prohibitive.
 
Synthetic Resins:  Excellent – Synthetic resins can be used to collect various contaminants from liquids, vapor or atmospheric streams and be reused indefinitely.  Potentially significant upfront capital costs.

Properties

Molecular weight (g/mole): 88.107

Solubility (mg/L): Completely Miscible

Vapor pressure (mm Hg): 38.09

Henry’s Coefficient (unitless):  0.7236304

Organic Carbon Partitioning Coefficient (cm3/g):  94.94

Click here for a comprehensive table of properties