Effectiveness of Capture Zones Generated by Intermittent Pumping of a PV-Powered Pump-and-Treat System without Energy Storage

Abstract

A common technology to remediate and/or contain contaminated groundwater is pump-and-treat remediation (P&T). Traditionally, P&T systems have been designed to operate continuously to achieve steady-state capture zones, for which large amounts of energy are required. Green and sustainable remediation (GSR) is emerging as a viable method to minimize the adverse effects of remediation on the environment. One of the challenges associated with photovoltaic- (PV-) powered P&T systems is the assessment of their performance given the intermittent nature of the power availability. This article characterizes the hydraulic containment effectiveness of a PV-powered P&T system without energy storage using data collected at two different remediation sites, a Dry-Cleaning Environmental Response Trust Fund site in Rolla, Missouri, and the Former Nebraska Ordnance Plant near Mead, Nebraska. Additionally, a method to estimate the effectiveness of the hydraulic containment as a function of the total volume of groundwater expected to be extracted is being proposed. Two transient and a continuously pumped capture zones were modeled using Visual MODFLOW® 2012.1 along with MODPATH and compared. The study shows that smaller capture zones will be generated from intermittent pumping when compared to continuous pumping.

Department(s)

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering

International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)

1051-5658

Document Type

Article - Journal

Document Version

Citation

File Type

text

Language(s)

English

Rights

© 2013 John Wiley & Sons Inc., All rights reserved.

Publication Date

01 Jun 2013

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