Engineered injection-extraction systems: sensitivity analysis and implications for groundwater remediation

Effective remediation of contaminated aquifers is often limited by the mixing among reaction partners. An effective method to enhance mixing and reach a faster groundwater remediation is engineered injection extraction (EIE). This technology consists of a sequence of 12-steps of injection and extraction of water through a system of four wells. In this work, we investigate, using Morris sensitivity analysis, which are the most relevant design parameters of EIE among the location of four injection-extraction wells and their pumping rate, in a two-dimensional domain. Moreover, we consider the effect of heterogeneous hydraulic conductivity fields in scenarios of increasing complexity. Our results show that the first steps of the remediation process are the most important ones. The value of the hydraulic conductivity is relevant in case of heterogeneous fields within the treated area, as it generates flow focusing, enhancing plume spreading and mixing. In the case of instantaneous, complete mixing-limited reactions, the sensitivity of the model parameters also depends on the critical mixing ratio, which controls the time needed for the complete degradation of a treatment solution injected in the middle of the EIE system.     «

Effective remediation of contaminated aquifers is often limited by the mixing among reaction partners. An effective method to enhance mixing and reach a faster groundwater remediation is engineered injection extraction (EIE). This technology consists of a sequence of 12-steps of injection and extraction of water through a system of four wells. In this work, we investigate, using Morris sensitivity analysis, which are the most relevant design parameters of EIE among the location of four injection...     »