Nonaqueous phase liquid cleanup in stratified formation by water displacement

Abstract EN

Ground water contamination by non-aqueous phase liquids (NAPLs) is a serious concern at many chemical industries and waste disposal sites.

Many groundwater contamination incidents begin with the release of an essentially immiscible NAPL into the subsurface porous environment.

Mathematical models are often used to evaluate the potential for ground water contamination resulting from NAPL in the unsaturated zone.

This paper derives a mathematical formulation to enhance our understanding of mobilization and displacement of NAPL during water flooding in stratified formations.

The permeability was taken as a primary unknown variable in the developed mathematical model.

An example is shown to confirm the applicability of the model.

The results showed that the developed model is highly reliable in finding both water and NAPL flow rates as a function of time and to find the time required to remedy ground water NAPL contamination by water flooding.