Performance Evaluation of PV-Powered Pump and Treat Systems using Typical Meteorological Year Three Data

Abstract

Pump and treat (P&T) is a technology that has been extensively used to remove and/or contain contaminated groundwater. P&T systems conventionally operate continuously, which requires significant amounts of energy. The use of renewable energies to meet power demands of remedial systems may reduce a project's carbon dioxide emissions. This paper analyzes the performance of a hypothetical photovoltaic (PV)-powered P&T system that operates both intermittently by assuming that the system does not include an energy storage component and continuously by assuming that the system includes a relatively small capacity energy storage component using widely available Typical Meteorological Year 3 (TMY3) data. The results are compared against a baseline case of continuous pumping at a constant rate using volume of groundwater removed and capture zone width. The comparison shows that the cost-benefit of increasing the capture zone widths and volume of extracted groundwater by increasing the rated flow rate is greater than by including a relatively small-capacity energy storage component. PV-powered P&T system performance, without or with limited relatively small-capacity energy storage, is conditioned to site-specific hydrologic and seasonal characteristics. The methodology presented in this paper can be used to assess and compare the performance of each alternative

Department(s)

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering

Keywords and Phrases

Capture zones; Intermittent pumping; Pump and treat; Remediation; Renewable energy; Typical meteorological year 3 (TMY3); Carbon dioxide; Energy storage; Global warming; Groundwater; alternative energy; photovoltaic system

International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)

2153-5493

Document Type

Article - Journal

Document Version

Citation

File Type

text

Language(s)

English

Rights

© 2014 American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), All rights reserved.

Publication Date

01 Apr 2014

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