Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of Soil Vapor Extraction?

Soil Vapor Extraction (SVE) is a remediation technology primarily used to remove volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from the subsurface. The correct answer indicates that it cannot effectively operate in high moisture conditions.

When soils are saturated or have high moisture content, the effectiveness of SVE is significantly diminished. This is because the presence of water fills the pore spaces within the soil, leaving less room for air and reducing the extraction of vapors. The extracted vapors are less likely to contain significant amounts of contaminants due to dilution, which limits the method's efficiency.

SVE is particularly effective in unsaturated soil conditions where higher porosity and air availability facilitate the removal of contaminants. It can efficiently extract organic contaminants (the first characteristic) due to this vapor phase extraction mechanism. Additionally, SVE does not inherently reduce the volume of contaminated soil (the third characteristic) but rather aims to decrease contaminant concentrations. Lastly, while SVE can indirectly enhance biodegradation by increasing the oxygen supply in the subsurface, the primary function does not directly relate to biodegradation rates as a main characteristic of the technology.

Thus, the assertion that SVE can operate effectively under high moisture conditions is incorrect, highlighting why this option is chosen.