Evaluation of BTEX Remediation by Natural Attenuation at a Coastal Facility |
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| Authors: | Monica P Suarez Hanadi S Rifai |
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| Institution: | Monica P. Suarez;is a researcher in civil and environmental engineering at the University of Houston (4800 Calhoun Rd., Room N107D, Houston, TX 77204–4003; 743–0753;fax 743–4260;). She has an M.Sc. in environmental engineering from the University of Houston. Suarez has six years experience in waste water treatment and sustainable development. Her current research is focused on understanding natural attenuation processes at the field scale. Hanadi S. Rifai;is an associate professor in civil and environmental engineering at the University of Houston (4800 Calhoun Rd., Room N107D, Houston, TX 77204–4003; 743–4271;fax 743–4260;). Dr. Rifai's research efforts are focused on contaminant fate and transport modeling and remediation and natural attenuation. She has co-authored two textbooks: Ground-Water Contamination: Transport and Remediation, published by Prentice-Hall in 1994 and 1999, and Natural Attenuation of Fuels and Chlorinated Solvents in the Subsurface, published by McGraw-Hill in 1999. Dr. Rifai is the editor-in-chief of the Bioremediation Journal and a member of the U.S. EPA Science Advisory Board Environmental Engineering Committee (FYOO) Natural Attenuation Subcommittee, 2000. |
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| Abstract: | Natural attenuation has emerged as a potential alternative for remediating sites contaminated with fuel hydrocarbons. This paper examines the viability of using attenuation through natural processes to remediate ground water at an industrial facility. The research combined field assessments with data analysis and modeling to evaluate plume stability and predict remediation times. Field data on natural attenuation indicate that BTEX contamination at the site is being attenuated at rates that vary within the range of 0.0001 to 0.0073/day. Stability analyses confirm that the BTEX plume has reached steady state. An analysis on mass flux showed that between 1979 and 1996, 95,000 pounds of BTEX were lost via biodegradation, while 8000 pounds were lost through other mechanisms. A first-order biodegradation rate of 0.0002/day for BTEX was obtained from the change in the total mass of dissolved BTEX with time. Cleanup times in excess of 200 years for the site were estimated using analytical modeling of natural attenuation, which agreed well with the remediation times estimated using the attenuation rates calculated for the site. |
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