This thesis is divided into two projects. The first project investigates the dissolution of the Hanford salt cakes, the chemical properties of the effluent and the physical properties such as viscosity of the effluent, the porosity and the permeability of the salt cake bed as the dissolution proceeds. The chemical results are compared to predictions using a thermodynamic model. Physical properties are important because they govern the rate at which the Hanford tanks can be emptied thus facilitating the remediation process. Two simulants were investigated for the dissolution process. The chemical analysis matched with the model predictions for both the simulants. A typical gibbsite layer formation was observed in the chemically complex simulant and experiments were performed to remediate the layer. The second project of this thesis studied the remediation of sodium phosphate dodecahydrate plug using water and sodium carbonate solutions at varying concentrations. A flow loop previously used to study the sodium phosphate dodecahydrate plugging mechanisms, was used to form a plug followed by the addition of water and sodium carbonate solutions. Results indicate that there was a drastic decrease in time to remediate the plug when sodium carbonate solutions were used.

SEM and CT X-ray imaging were used to quantify the surface geometries of sandstone pore and throat networks of the oil-bearing Stanley Sandstone of the Eutaw Formation of Jasper County, Mississippi, both in dry samples and in samples that had undergone laboratory simulations of Microbial Permeability Profile Modification (MPPM) oil-recovery technology. The goal of the study was to acquire some quantified understanding of the way induced bacterial activity affected the surface geometries and impacted the porosity and permeability of the oil-bearing Stanley Sandstone. Visible porosity remained high, but significant permeability modification occurred ubiquitously with pore and throat spaces of 10 ìm – 20 μm diameter. Based upon quantitative analysis of photomicrographs, biofilm did not completely fill porosity but did clog pore throats, thus significantly impacting permeability.

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