Numerical Analysis of Potential Contaminant Migration from Abandoned In Situ Coal Conversion Reactors
<p>In the context of a potential utilisation of coal resources located in the Mecsek mountain area in Southern Hungary, an assessment of groundwater pollution resulting from a potential water-borne contaminant pool remaining in in situ coal conversion reactors after site abandonment has been u...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Copernicus Publications
2022-11-01
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| Series: | Advances in Geosciences |
| Online Access: | https://adgeo.copernicus.org/articles/58/55/2022/adgeo-58-55-2022.pdf |
| _version_ | 1811189315256975360 |
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| author | C. Otto S. Steding M. Tranter T. Gorka M. Hámor-Vidó W. Basa K. Kapusta I. Kalmár T. Kempka T. Kempka |
| author_facet | C. Otto S. Steding M. Tranter T. Gorka M. Hámor-Vidó W. Basa K. Kapusta I. Kalmár T. Kempka T. Kempka |
| author_sort | C. Otto |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <p>In the context of a potential utilisation of coal resources located in the Mecsek mountain area in Southern Hungary, an assessment of groundwater pollution resulting from a potential water-borne contaminant pool remaining in in situ coal conversion reactors after site abandonment has been undertaken in the scope of the present study. The respective contaminants may be of organic and inorganic nature.
A sensitivity analysis was carried out by means of numerical simulations of fluid flow as well as contaminant and heat transport including retardation to assess spatial contaminant migration. Hereby, the main uncertainties, e.g., changes in hydraulic gradient and hydraulic contributions of the complex regional and local fault systems in the study area, were assessed in a deterministic way to identify the relevant parameters.
Overall 512 simulations of potential groundwater contamination scenarios within a time horizon exceeding the local post-operational monitoring period were performed, based on maximum contaminant concentrations, cumulative mass balances as well as migration distances of the contaminant plume. The simulation results show that regional faults represent the main contaminant migration pathway, and that contamination is unlikely assuming the given reference model parametrisation.
However, contamination within a simulation time of 50 years is possible for specific geological conditions, e.g., if the hydraulic conductivity of the regional faults exceeds a maximum value of
1 <span class="inline-formula">×</span> 10<span class="inline-formula"><sup>−5</sup></span> m s<span class="inline-formula"><sup>−1</sup></span>.
Further, the parameter data analysis shows that freshwater aquifer contamination is highly non-linear and has a bimodal distribution. The bivariate correlation coefficient heatmap shows slightly positive correlations for the pressure difference, the fault permeability and the simulation time, as well as a negative correlation for the retardation coefficient.
The results of this sensitivity analysis have been integrated into a specific toolkit for risk assessment for that purpose.</p> |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T14:32:56Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-3af8559c9660497c9ac6e835e4d8c9c0 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1680-7340 1680-7359 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T14:32:56Z |
| publishDate | 2022-11-01 |
| publisher | Copernicus Publications |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Advances in Geosciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-3af8559c9660497c9ac6e835e4d8c9c02022-12-22T04:18:27ZengCopernicus PublicationsAdvances in Geosciences1680-73401680-73592022-11-0158556610.5194/adgeo-58-55-2022Numerical Analysis of Potential Contaminant Migration from Abandoned In Situ Coal Conversion ReactorsC. Otto0S. Steding1M. Tranter2T. Gorka3M. Hámor-Vidó4W. Basa5K. Kapusta6I. Kalmár7T. Kempka8T. Kempka9GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, Telegrafenberg, 14473 Potsdam, GermanyGFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, Telegrafenberg, 14473 Potsdam, GermanyGFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, Telegrafenberg, 14473 Potsdam, GermanyDMT GmbH & Co. KG, Am TÜV 1, 45307 Essen, GermanyDepartment of Geology and Meteorology, University of Pécs, Ifjúság u. 6, 7624 Pécs, HungaryGłówny Instytut Górnictwa (Central Mining Institute), Plac Gwarków 1, 40-166 Katowice, PolandGłówny Instytut Górnictwa (Central Mining Institute), Plac Gwarków 1, 40-166 Katowice, PolandCalamites Ltd., Daraboshaz 3, Nagymanyok 7355, HungaryGFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, Telegrafenberg, 14473 Potsdam, GermanyInstitute of Geosciences, University of Potsdam, Karl-Liebknecht-Str. 24–25, 14476 Potsdam, Germany<p>In the context of a potential utilisation of coal resources located in the Mecsek mountain area in Southern Hungary, an assessment of groundwater pollution resulting from a potential water-borne contaminant pool remaining in in situ coal conversion reactors after site abandonment has been undertaken in the scope of the present study. The respective contaminants may be of organic and inorganic nature. A sensitivity analysis was carried out by means of numerical simulations of fluid flow as well as contaminant and heat transport including retardation to assess spatial contaminant migration. Hereby, the main uncertainties, e.g., changes in hydraulic gradient and hydraulic contributions of the complex regional and local fault systems in the study area, were assessed in a deterministic way to identify the relevant parameters. Overall 512 simulations of potential groundwater contamination scenarios within a time horizon exceeding the local post-operational monitoring period were performed, based on maximum contaminant concentrations, cumulative mass balances as well as migration distances of the contaminant plume. The simulation results show that regional faults represent the main contaminant migration pathway, and that contamination is unlikely assuming the given reference model parametrisation. However, contamination within a simulation time of 50 years is possible for specific geological conditions, e.g., if the hydraulic conductivity of the regional faults exceeds a maximum value of 1 <span class="inline-formula">×</span> 10<span class="inline-formula"><sup>−5</sup></span> m s<span class="inline-formula"><sup>−1</sup></span>. Further, the parameter data analysis shows that freshwater aquifer contamination is highly non-linear and has a bimodal distribution. The bivariate correlation coefficient heatmap shows slightly positive correlations for the pressure difference, the fault permeability and the simulation time, as well as a negative correlation for the retardation coefficient. The results of this sensitivity analysis have been integrated into a specific toolkit for risk assessment for that purpose.</p>https://adgeo.copernicus.org/articles/58/55/2022/adgeo-58-55-2022.pdf |
| spellingShingle | C. Otto S. Steding M. Tranter T. Gorka M. Hámor-Vidó W. Basa K. Kapusta I. Kalmár T. Kempka T. Kempka Numerical Analysis of Potential Contaminant Migration from Abandoned In Situ Coal Conversion Reactors Advances in Geosciences |
| title | Numerical Analysis of Potential Contaminant Migration from Abandoned In Situ Coal Conversion Reactors |
| title_full | Numerical Analysis of Potential Contaminant Migration from Abandoned In Situ Coal Conversion Reactors |
| title_fullStr | Numerical Analysis of Potential Contaminant Migration from Abandoned In Situ Coal Conversion Reactors |
| title_full_unstemmed | Numerical Analysis of Potential Contaminant Migration from Abandoned In Situ Coal Conversion Reactors |
| title_short | Numerical Analysis of Potential Contaminant Migration from Abandoned In Situ Coal Conversion Reactors |
| title_sort | numerical analysis of potential contaminant migration from abandoned in situ coal conversion reactors |
| url | https://adgeo.copernicus.org/articles/58/55/2022/adgeo-58-55-2022.pdf |
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