Numerical simulation of DNAPL emissions and remediation in a fractured dolomitic aquifer

This study presents a numerical model of a large aqueous phase plume of a mixture of chlorinated solvents that has penetrated the fractured dolomitic bedrock near Smithville, Ontario, Canada several decades ago which, since 1989 has been hydraulically controlled by a pump-and-treat remediation system. A multiphase compositional model CompFlow is first applied to simulate the migration of DNAPLs in a discretely fractured porous medium with hydrostratigraphy representing the Smithville site. Results from CompFlow are used to estimate the pure-phase DNAPL distribution in the discrete fractures and rock matrix. Next, CompFlow results are employed to define the source term for a regional-scale transport simulation using HydroGeoSphere (HGS) by treating the layered, fractured dolomitic rocks as an equivalent porous continuum. Transport simulations are conducted both prior to and after the operation of the pump-and-treat system. Results reveal that considerable agreement with the observed mass removal data and TCE plume can be achieved by modifying the composition of the DNAPL source and by reducing the hydraulic conductivity (K) in the source zone region to account for preferential flow around it. Our transport model results support the conceptual model of TCE contamination which posits a mixed source (2 to 4%) of DNAPL with limited contact with actively flowing groundwater that is undergoing equilibrium dissolution. Model results also reveal that the pump-and-treat system has neither been effective in stabilizing the plume nor removing a significant amount of contaminant mass, but that the stability of the plume is instead due to first-order degradation.

► We model TCE plume undergoing pump-and-treat remediation in fractured dolomite.
► The equilibrium dissolution model explains the transport results well.
► Results reveal that pump-and-treat system is ineffective in removing mass.
► 1st-order degradation controls plume stability and mass removal at this site.