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Groundwater
Contamination: A Mathematical Simulation of
Alcohol Assisted Bioremediation
Melissa M. McKay and George F. Pinder
Contamination of groundwater by petroleum
compounds and other non-aqueous phase liquids (NAPLs) as a
result of accidental releases or poor management practices
is one of the most troubling subsurface environmental
problems of our time. Because typical NAPLs are toxic to
humans at very low levels, residual NAPL saturations in the
aquifer can cause significant contamination of drinking
water for very long periods of time.
Cleanup of groundwater, can be undertaken
by a variety of methodologies, either singly or in concert.
Two of the more novel strategies are “bioremediation”, the
utilization of biological processes to convert environmental
contaminants into innocuous substances, and “alcohol flood”
which involves injecting alcohol or a surfactant into the
ground to increase the solubility and mobility of the NAPL
phase thereby assisting in its removal from the aquifer.
The goal of this presentation is to
introduce these methods of groundwater remediation and show
how computer-based mathematical simulation can provide
insight into the combined process of enhanced bioremediation
and alcohol flood.
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