Numerical simulation of benzene transport in shoreline groundwater affected by tides under different conditions

doi:10.1007/s11783-022-1540-9

Front. Environ. Sci. Eng.

2022, Vol. 16

Issue (5) : 61 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11783-022-1540-9

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Numerical simulation of benzene transport in shoreline groundwater affected by tides under different conditions

Mahsa Kheirandish¹, Chunjiang An¹(

), Zhi Chen¹, Xiaolong Geng², Michel Boufadel²

¹. Department of Building, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Concordia University, Montreal, QC H3G 1M8, Canada
². Center for Natural Resources, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark NJ 07102, USA

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Abstract

● An approach for assessing the transport of benzene on the beach was proposed.

● The behavior of benzene in the subsurface of the beach was impacted by tide.

● Tidal amplitude influenced the travel speed and the benzene biodegradation.

● Hydraulic conductivity had the impact on plume residence time and biodegradation.

● Plume dispersed and concentration decreased due to high longitudinal dispersivity.

The release and transport of benzene in coastal aquifers were investigated in the present study. Numerical simulations were implemented using the SEAM3D, coupled with GMS, to study the behavior of benzene in the subsurface of tidally influenced beaches. The transport and fate of the benzene plume were simulated, considering advection, dispersion, sorption, biodegradation, and dissolution on the beach. Different tide amplitudes, aquifer characteristics, and pollutant release locations were studied. It was found that the tide amplitude, hydraulic conductivity, and longitudinal dispersivity were the primary factors affecting the fate and transport of benzene. The tidal amplitude influenced the transport speed and percentage of biodegradation of benzene plume in the beach. A high tidal range reduced the spreading area and enhanced the rate of benzene biodegradation. Hydraulic conductivity had an impact on plume residence time and the percentage of contaminant biodegradation. Lower hydraulic conductivity induced longer residence time in each beach portion and a higher percentage of biodegradation on the beach. The plume dispersed and the concentration decreased due to high longitudinal dispersivity. The results can be used to support future risk assessment and management for the shorelines impacted by spill and leaking accidents. Modeling the heterogeneous beach aquifer subjected to tides can also be further explored in the future study.

Keywords Numerical simulation Benzene Transport and fate Shoreline Groundwater Tide

Corresponding Author(s): Chunjiang An

Issue Date: 10 March 2022

Cite this article:

Mahsa Kheirandish,Chunjiang An,Zhi Chen, et al. Numerical simulation of benzene transport in shoreline groundwater affected by tides under different conditions[J]. Front. Environ. Sci. Eng., 2022, 16(5): 61.

URL:

https://academic.hep.com.cn/fese/EN/10.1007/s11783-022-1540-9
https://academic.hep.com.cn/fese/EN/Y2022/V16/I5/61

Fig.1 (a) The front view of the model grid. The leaking location is 110 m from the seaside and 50 m in the shoreline, and the groundwater table is 2 m below the surface. (b) The schematic diagram of the three-dimensional model grid. (c) The plan view of the leaking location on x = 50 m with the contaminant concentration contours at t = 0.

Tab.1 Characteristics of the numerical experiments and different scenarios that are analyzed in this study

Tab.2 Physical parameters used in the numerical simulations

Tab.3 Microbial parameters used in numerical model

Fig.2 Evaluated aerobic biodegradation of benzene and simulation results using SEAM3D and models developed by other studies (Chen et al., 1992; El-Kadi, 2001; Essaid et al., 1995; Geng et al., 2017). The experimental results were reported in Chen et al. (1992).

Fig.3 Velocity vectors and flow condition. (a) Case 4 (no tide). (b) Case 1 (A = 1 m). (c) Case 2 (A = 2 m). d) Case 3 (A = 3 m).

Fig.4 Concentration contour in base scenario (A = 1). (a) Fate and transport of the benzene after 7, 30 and 90 d. (b) Oxygen consume due to microbial degradation after 7, 30 and 90 d. (c) Nutrient concentration in domain after 7, 30 and 90 d.

Fig.5 Tide effect on the concentration of benzene in time at a different location: (a) Tide effect on different scenarios (Case 1, 2, 3 and 4) at x = 60 m (10 m after source point), (b) Tide effect on case 1, 2, 4 at x = 130 (80 m after the benzene release source), (c) Benzene concentration at x = 130 for case 3 (due to the small amount of benzene concentration in this location the graph has been shown separately).

Fig.6 Spreading area of the benzene plume after 15 d affected by different tide amplitude for the first scenario; the area shrinks due to an increase in the tide amplitude.

Fig.7 Effect of hydraulic conductivity on plume concentration during the specific time: (a) concentration versus time at x = 60 m (10 m after benzene released). (b) and (c) plume concentration versus time at x = 130 (80 m after point source).

Fig.8 Plume transport after 30 d. (a) Hydraulic conductivity 0.9 m/h (case 6). (b) Hydraulic conductivity 1.8 m/h (case 1). (c) Hydraulic conductivity 3.6 m/h (case 5).

Fig.9 Effect of longitudinal dispersivity on benzene concentration during the time. (a) Concentration of benzene 10 m after the point source. (b) Concentration of benzene 80 m after releasing contaminant.

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