Oil, a hydrocarbon spilled above a phreatic aquifer, initially percolates primarily vertically until it reaches the capillary fringe. Subsequently, the oil migrates within the capillary fringe parallel to the groundwater table thereby creating an oil-polluted layer parallel to the groundwater table. The mean thickness of such an oil-polluted layer is denoted by .
The objective of this paper is to describe as a function of the thickness of oil in an observation well and of the oil potential, respectively. For oil to enter a porous medium, a minimum value of
is necessary and will be determined.
The paper starts by explaining the relationship between the water-air saturation curve and the saturation curves for water-oil and oil-air as expressed by the scale factor Ω. Subsequently, the phenomenon of capillary pollution is described. The influence of hysteresis in capillarity on the above considerations is shown at the end of the paper.
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