Air Sparging Systems
Used alone, Soil Vapor Extraction systems cannot remove soil contaminates from the water-soaked soil that lies below the water table (saturated zone). Where the contamination is in the saturated zone, Air Sparging may accompany the SVE system.
Air Sparging pumps air into the saturated zone to flush out or bubble up the soil contaminates into the unsaturated zone where the extraction wells of the SVE system can remove them. Air Sparging works best if the soil in the saturated zone is loose enough to allow the injected air to readily escape into the unsaturated zone. Such soil types include coarse-grained soil, sand, and gravel.