Análise de sensibilidade do sistema de extração multifásica utilizando o simulador Stomp

Abstract

Contamination of soil and groundwater due to LNAPLs (Light non-aqueous phase liquids) has been the subject of environmental concern. A technology widely used in these cases is multiphase extraction (MPE), in which simultaneous recovery of the three phases of the contaminant occurs. Bioslurping, one of the MPE system’s configurations, extracts the fluids through a single conduit, with the maximization of oil extraction as its main goal. Although widely used, much of the knowledge related to its application is empirical. Therefore, the present research has as main aim modeling the multiphase extraction in the Bioslurping module of STOMP using data from a natural Brazilian soil and commercial diesel fuel, in order to obtain results that can help the application of the technique in the field. STOMP is a simulator capable of generating numerical predictions about flow and transport in subsurface through the finite difference method. A sensitivity analysis was performed considering the parameters: applied vacuum and tube tip position. The results showed that excessive increase of the applied vacuum does not generate large gains in the amount of liquids extracted and that the best place for positioning the tube tip is between the air-LNAPL and LNAPL-water interfaces. The well diameter and filter section length were also analyzed, however, the results show that the Bioslurping module is limited to the variation of these parameters.