The article was published in Volume 278 of the Journal of Contaminant Hydrology in March 2026.
Their coauthors were Zechen Ding, Oubai Elagab, and Cheng Chen from Stevens Institute of Technology; Qingqi Zhao from the University of Stuttgart; Anthony Danko from the Naval Facilities Engineering and Expeditionary Warfare Center; and Charles J Werth from the University of Texas at Austin.
Neal is a Senior Principal Consultant based in Washington, DC, with more than 35 years of experience supporting multinational corporations and government agencies in matters involving quantification, management, and remediation of environmental liabilities. He is internationally known for his expertise remediating chlorinated solvents in groundwater.
Dimin is a Senior Professional Environmental Scientist with more than 15 years of experience focused on developing and applying innovative solutions for soil and groundwater remediation. His expertise includes in situ chemical reduction, in situ activated carbon-based technologies, and combined remedial technologies.
The Journal of Contaminant Hydrology publishes scientific articles contributing to a broad understanding of water resource contamination. It focuses on studies of physical, chemical, and biological processes that affect organic and inorganic contaminants in water, with attention to ecological impacts.
More Information on Remediation in Low-Permeability Areas of the Subsurface
Read the article.
Learn more about the Journal of Contaminant Hydrology.
For more information on using granular activated carbon in hydraulic fractures to support remediation and on applying other innovative solutions to address contaminated groundwater, contact Neal at NDurant@Geosyntec.com or Dimin at DFan@Geosyntec.com.
Learn more about Neal: Neal Durant
Learn more about Dimin: Dimin Fan
The Article in Brief: “Placement of Sand and Granular Activated Carbon in Hydraulic Fractures for Contaminant Remediation in Low-Permeability Formations”
This article describes a novel laboratory and modeling study that explores the strategic placement of granular activated carbon (GAC), as a surrogate of GAC-based remediation reagent, and sand (as proppant) within engineered hydraulic fractures to enhance remediation of contamination stored in low-permeability geologic matrices. Although not tested yet at field scale, hydraulic fractures filled with a mixture of GAC and treatment agents are expected to improve the rate and performance of in situ remediation in low permeability deposits.
A primary aim of this work was to evaluate how effective stress (a proxy for injection depth) affects fracture permeability for a range of GAC and sand-particle mixtures injected into a hydraulic fracture. At effective stress less than100 psi (typical for injection depths less than 100 feet), GAC-filled fractures retained relatively high permeability, without the need for including sand proppant in the fracture. In general, the fraction of sand proppant necessary to retain fracture permeability increases with increasing injection depth, as GAC becomes compressed and loses structure with increasing effective stress.
The study highlights how targeted material placement via hydraulic fracturing, can improve contaminant mass removal and long-term remedial effectiveness of GAC-based treatment technology in low permeability matrices. This work reflects the authors’ shared expertise in subsurface remediation and advances the application of innovative technologies for complex contaminated sites.
