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Calcimator

Soil Vapor Extraction Calculator

Size an SVE system: extraction well spacing, airflow rates, and blower sizing for VOC removal.

Inputs

Results

Radius of influence (m)

10

Well spacing (m)

12

Extraction wells needed

12

Total airflow (CFM)

36

Treatment area (m²)1,000
Air pore volume (m³)1,488
Airflow per well (CFM)3
Blower size (HP)0.2
Air-filled porosity0.3
Est. daily VOC removal (kg)0.07
How to Use This Calculator
  1. Enter treatment zone dimensions (length, width, vadose zone thickness in meters).
  2. Set air permeability (m²) and total porosity from soil boring or pneumatic testing data.
  3. Enter initial and target contaminant concentrations to size the vapor extraction system.
  4. Review the calculated radius of influence (ROI), well spacing, and total number of extraction wells.
  5. Check estimated air pore volume and vacuum blower requirements for equipment selection.

What each input means

Treatment zone length (m)
Length of the contaminated vadose zone area.
Treatment zone width (m)
Width of the contaminated vadose zone area.
Vadose zone thickness (m)
Thickness of the unsaturated zone above the water table.
Air permeability (m²)
Intrinsic air permeability. Sand ~1e-12, silty sand ~1e-13, silt ~1e-14 m².
Total porosity
Total soil porosity (not just air-filled).
Volumetric moisture content
Fraction of pore space filled with water. Higher moisture reduces air flow.
Applied vacuum (in H₂O)
Vacuum applied at the wellhead. Typical 10-60 inches of water column.

What each result means

Treatment area (m²)
Total area of the SVE treatment zone.
Air pore volume (m³)
Volume of air in the vadose zone pore space.
Radius of influence (m)
Estimated effective extraction radius per well.
Well spacing (m)
Recommended center-to-center extraction well spacing.
Extraction wells needed
Number of SVE extraction wells for full coverage.
Total airflow (CFM)
System total air extraction rate for 1 pore volume/day.
Airflow per well (CFM)
Air extraction rate per individual well.
Blower size (HP)
Approximate blower motor horsepower at 60% efficiency.
Air-filled porosity
Effective air-filled fraction of soil volume.
Est. daily VOC removal (kg)
Approximate initial daily mass removal assuming 50 mg/m³ vapor concentration.

How this is calculated

Worked example, using the default values

  1. Identify Input Parameters
    4 parameters
    Treatment zone length (m) = 40, Treatment zone width (m) = 25, Vadose zone thickness (m) = 5, Air permeability (m²) = 1e-12 = 7 input(s) provided
  2. Calculate Radius of influence
    Radius of influence = max(1.5, min(30, pow(10, (logK + 14) * 0.35 + 0.3)))
    10 = 10
  3. Calculate Well spacing
    Well spacing = roi * 1.2
    12 = 12
  4. Calculate Extraction wells needed
    Extraction wells needed
    12 = 12
  5. Calculate Treatment area
    Treatment area = treatLength * treatWidth
    1000 = 1000
  6. Calculate Air pore volume
    Air pore volume = treatVolume * airFilledPorosity
    1488 = 1488

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