Remediation Potential of Borehole Thermal Energy Storage for Chlorinated Hydrocarbon Plumes: Numerical Modeling in a Variably-Saturated Aquifer
Underground thermal energy storage is an efficient technique to boost the share of renewable energies. However, despite being well-established, their environmental impacts such as the interaction with hydrocarbon contaminants is not intensively investigated. This study uses OpenGeoSys software to si...
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2021-12-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Earth Science |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feart.2021.790315/full |
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| author | Boyan Meng Boyan Meng Yan Yang Yonghui Huang Olaf Kolditz Olaf Kolditz Haibing Shao |
| author_facet | Boyan Meng Boyan Meng Yan Yang Yonghui Huang Olaf Kolditz Olaf Kolditz Haibing Shao |
| author_sort | Boyan Meng |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Underground thermal energy storage is an efficient technique to boost the share of renewable energies. However, despite being well-established, their environmental impacts such as the interaction with hydrocarbon contaminants is not intensively investigated. This study uses OpenGeoSys software to simulate the heat and mass transport of a borehole thermal energy storage (BTES) system in a shallow unconfined aquifer. A high-temperature (70 C) heat storage scenario was considered which imposes long-term thermal impact on the subsurface. Moreover, the effect of temperature-dependent flow and mass transport in a two-phase system is examined for the contaminant trichloroethylene (TCE). In particular, as subsurface temperatures are raised due to BTES operation, volatilization will increase and redistribute the TCE in liquid and gas phases. These changes are inspected for different scenarios in a contaminant transport context. The results demonstrated the promising potential of BTES in facilitating the natural attenuation of hydrocarbon contaminants, particularly when buoyant flow is induced to accelerate TCE volatilization. For instance, over 70% of TCE mass was removed from a discontinuous contaminant plume after 5 years operation of a small BTES installation. The findings of this study are insightful for an increased application of subsurface heat storage facilities, especially in contaminated urban areas. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-24T03:07:20Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-445943d1e6144d53a08d7772bb8829ae |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2296-6463 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-24T03:07:20Z |
| publishDate | 2021-12-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Earth Science |
| spelling | doaj.art-445943d1e6144d53a08d7772bb8829ae2022-12-21T17:17:57ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Earth Science2296-64632021-12-01910.3389/feart.2021.790315790315Remediation Potential of Borehole Thermal Energy Storage for Chlorinated Hydrocarbon Plumes: Numerical Modeling in a Variably-Saturated AquiferBoyan Meng0Boyan Meng1Yan Yang2Yonghui Huang3Olaf Kolditz4Olaf Kolditz5Haibing Shao6Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, UFZ, Leipzig, GermanyFaculty of Environmental Sciences, Dresden University of Technology, Dresden, GermanyGeneral Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Planning and Design, MWR, Beijing, ChinaKey Laboratory of Shale Gas and Geoengineering, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, ChinaHelmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, UFZ, Leipzig, GermanyFaculty of Environmental Sciences, Dresden University of Technology, Dresden, GermanyHelmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, UFZ, Leipzig, GermanyUnderground thermal energy storage is an efficient technique to boost the share of renewable energies. However, despite being well-established, their environmental impacts such as the interaction with hydrocarbon contaminants is not intensively investigated. This study uses OpenGeoSys software to simulate the heat and mass transport of a borehole thermal energy storage (BTES) system in a shallow unconfined aquifer. A high-temperature (70 C) heat storage scenario was considered which imposes long-term thermal impact on the subsurface. Moreover, the effect of temperature-dependent flow and mass transport in a two-phase system is examined for the contaminant trichloroethylene (TCE). In particular, as subsurface temperatures are raised due to BTES operation, volatilization will increase and redistribute the TCE in liquid and gas phases. These changes are inspected for different scenarios in a contaminant transport context. The results demonstrated the promising potential of BTES in facilitating the natural attenuation of hydrocarbon contaminants, particularly when buoyant flow is induced to accelerate TCE volatilization. For instance, over 70% of TCE mass was removed from a discontinuous contaminant plume after 5 years operation of a small BTES installation. The findings of this study are insightful for an increased application of subsurface heat storage facilities, especially in contaminated urban areas.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feart.2021.790315/fullunderground thermal energy storage (UTES)contaminant transport and fategroundwater remediationmultiphase flow modelingopengeosys simulationchlorinated hydrocarbon (CHC) |
| spellingShingle | Boyan Meng Boyan Meng Yan Yang Yonghui Huang Olaf Kolditz Olaf Kolditz Haibing Shao Remediation Potential of Borehole Thermal Energy Storage for Chlorinated Hydrocarbon Plumes: Numerical Modeling in a Variably-Saturated Aquifer Frontiers in Earth Science underground thermal energy storage (UTES) contaminant transport and fate groundwater remediation multiphase flow modeling opengeosys simulation chlorinated hydrocarbon (CHC) |
| title | Remediation Potential of Borehole Thermal Energy Storage for Chlorinated Hydrocarbon Plumes: Numerical Modeling in a Variably-Saturated Aquifer |
| title_full | Remediation Potential of Borehole Thermal Energy Storage for Chlorinated Hydrocarbon Plumes: Numerical Modeling in a Variably-Saturated Aquifer |
| title_fullStr | Remediation Potential of Borehole Thermal Energy Storage for Chlorinated Hydrocarbon Plumes: Numerical Modeling in a Variably-Saturated Aquifer |
| title_full_unstemmed | Remediation Potential of Borehole Thermal Energy Storage for Chlorinated Hydrocarbon Plumes: Numerical Modeling in a Variably-Saturated Aquifer |
| title_short | Remediation Potential of Borehole Thermal Energy Storage for Chlorinated Hydrocarbon Plumes: Numerical Modeling in a Variably-Saturated Aquifer |
| title_sort | remediation potential of borehole thermal energy storage for chlorinated hydrocarbon plumes numerical modeling in a variably saturated aquifer |
| topic | underground thermal energy storage (UTES) contaminant transport and fate groundwater remediation multiphase flow modeling opengeosys simulation chlorinated hydrocarbon (CHC) |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feart.2021.790315/full |
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