Assessment of Mitigation Measures against Benzene Breakthrough into Subsurface Concrete Pipe
Publication: Journal of Pipeline Systems Engineering and Practice
Volume 12, Issue 1
Abstract
Work in this paper investigates the efficacy of mitigation measures to minimize the contaminant ingress into subsurface concrete pipes. The 3D study model of the concrete pipe and the soil domain are implemented in Visual MODFLOW version 6.1. The site parameters are developed from data for a site in Jacksonville, North Carolina, at which subsurface contamination occurred in the presence of subsurface concrete drainage pipe. Modeling results indicate that after 20 years, the installation of a clay barrier reduces the concentration of benzene within the pipe by 22% compared to no clay barrier case. In comparison, the use of flowable fill leads to a 99.9% reduction in the concentration of benzene breaking through the pipe, and the use of an antiseep collar leads to a 60% reduction in the concentration of benzene. The natural hydraulic gradient of the site affects the level of contamination breaking through the pipe with a smaller breakthrough mass with lower site hydraulic gradients. Additional research is needed to obtain data on the efficacy of the studied mitigation measures through field implementation and performance monitoring with time. Such field implementation and monitoring studies are needed on concrete pipes and mitigation measures installed in saturated and unsaturated subsurface soil profiles.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Data Availability Statement
All data, models, and code generated or used during the study appear in the submitted article.
Some or all data, models, or code that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to acknowledge the support of the North Carolina DOT. Also, the corresponding author would like to acknowledge the support of the Deanship of Scientific Research at Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz University, Al-Kharj, Saudi Arabia.
References
Alhomair, S., P. Hosseini, M. Gabr, M. Pour-Ghaz, and D. Knappe. 2019. Migration of aqueous benzene through a subsurface concrete utility pipe under saturated soil conditions, 115–124. Reston, VA: ASCE.
An, D., Y. Jiang, B. Xi, Z. Ma, Y. Yang, Q. Yang, M. Li, J. Zhang, S. Bai, and L. Jiang. 2013. “Analysis for remedial alternatives of unregulated municipal solid waste landfills leachate-contaminated groundwater.” Front. Earth Sci. 7 (3): 310–319. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11707-013-0374-y.
Antea. 2016. Groundwater monitoring report of 267 Western Boulevard project. Jacksonville, NC: Antea USA of North Carolina.
ASTM. 1994. Emergency standard guide for risk-based corrective action applied at petroleum release sites. West Conshohocken, PA: ASTM.
Bagarello, V., S. Sferlazza, and A. Sgroi. 2009. “Testing laboratory methods to determine the anisotropy of saturated hydraulic conductivity in a sandy-loam soil.” Geoderma 154 (1–2): 52–58. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2009.09.012.
Borden, R. C., R. A. Daniel, L. E. LeBrun, and C. W. Davis. 1997. “Intrinsic biodegradation of MTBE and BTEX in a gasoline-contaminated aquifer.” Water Resour. Res. 33 (5): 1105–1115. https://doi.org/10.1029/97WR00014.
D’Appolonia, D. J. 1980. “Soil-bentonite slurry trench cutoffs.” J. Geotech. Eng. Div. 106 (4): 399–417.
Deiss, L., A. J. Franzluebbers, A. Amoozegar, D. Hesterberg, M. Polizzotto, and F. W. Cubbage. 2017. “Soil carbon fractions from an alluvial soil texture gradient in North Carolina.” Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 81 (5): 1096–1106. https://doi.org/10.2136/sssaj2016.09.0304.
Delta Environmental Consultants. 2000. Comprehensive site assessment of 267 Western Boulevard project. Jacksonville, NC: Delta Environmental Consultants.
Deng, A., and P. J. Tikalsky. 2008. “Geotechnical and leaching properties of flowable fill incorporating waste foundry sand.” Waste Manage. (Oxford) 28 (11): 2161–2170. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2007.09.018.
EPA (Environmental Protection Agency). 2019. “Cleaning up underground storage tank (UST) releases.” Accessed September 30, 2019. https://www.epa.gov/ust/cleaning-underground-storage-tank-ust-releases.
Gabr, M. A., J. J. Bowders, J. Wang, and J. Quaranta. 1996. “In situ soil flushing using prefabricated vertical drains.” Can. Geotech. J. 33 (1): 97–105. https://doi.org/10.1139/t96-026.
Gaucher, E. C., P. Blanc, J. M. Matray, and N. Michau. 2004. “Modeling diffusion of an alkaline plume in a clay barrier.” Appl. Geochem. 19 (10): 1505–1515. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeochem.2004.03.007.
Geotechdata. 2013. “Soil permeability coefficient.” Accessed October 7, 2013. http://geotechdata.info/parameter/permeability.html.
Ghoraba, S. M., B. A. Zyedan, and I. M. H. Rashwan. 2013. “Solute transport modeling of the groundwater for quaternary aquifer quality management in Middle Delta, Egypt.” Alexandria Eng. J. 52 (2): 197–207. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aej.2012.12.007.
Grube, W. E. 1992. “Slurry trench cut-off walls for environmental pollution control.” In Slurry walls: Design, construction, and quality control. West Conshohocken, PA: ASTM.
GSI Environmental. 2014. “GSI chemical properties database.” Accessed April 11, 2018. http://www.gsi-net.com/en/publications/gsi-chemical-database.html.
Harbaugh, A. W. 2005. MODFLOW-2005, the US Geological Survey modular ground-water model: The ground-water flow process. Reston, VA: US Geological Survey.
He, L., G. Liu, and X. Li. 2009. “Modeling and predicting groundwater pollution caused by oil pipeline leakage using MODFLOW and MT3D.” In Proc., 3rd Int. Conf. Bioinformatics and Biomedical Engineering, 1–5. New York: IEEE.
Li, Y. C., G. N. Chen, Y. M. Chen, and P. J. Cleall. 2017. “Design charts for contaminant transport through slurry trench cutoff walls.” J. Environ. Eng. 143 (9): 06017005. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)EE.1943-7870.0001253.
Mao, F., J. A. Gaunt, C. L. Cheng, and S. K. Ong. 2010. “Permeation of BTEX compounds through HDPE pipes under simulated field conditions.” J. Am. Water Works Assn. 102 (3): 107–118. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1551-8833.2010.tb10077.x.
Mao, F., J. A. Gaunt, S. K. Ong, and C. L. Cheng. 2011. “Permeation of petroleum-based hydrocarbons through PVC pipe joints with Rieber gasket systems.” J. Environ. Eng. 137 (12): 1128–1135. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)EE.1943-7870.0000431.
Mao, X., H. Prommer, D. A. Barry, C. D. Langevin, B. Panteleit, and L. Li. 2006. “Three-dimensional model for multicomponent reactive transport with variable density groundwater flow.” Environ. Model. Software 21 (5): 615–628. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsoft.2004.11.008.
Neuman, S. P. 1990. “Universal scaling of hydraulic conductivities and dispersivities in geological media.” Water Resour. Res. 26 (8): 1749–1758. https://doi.org/10.1029/WR026i008p01749.
Ong, S. K., J. A. Gaunt, F. Mao, C. L. Cheng, L. Esteve-Agelet, and C. R. Hurburgh. 2008. Impact of petroleum-based hydrocarbons on PE/PVC pipes and pipe gaskets. Denver: Water Research Foundation.
Prommer, H., D. A. Barry, and C. Zheng. 2003. “MODFLOW/MT3DMS-based reactive multicomponent transport modeling.” Ground Water 41 (2): 247–257. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-6584.2003.tb02588.x.
Qiu, Z. F., and J. J. Wang. 2015. “Experimental study on the anisotropic hydraulic conductivity of a sandstone–mudstone particle mixture.” J. Hydrol. Eng. 20 (11): 04015029. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)HE.1943-5584.0001220.
Rowe, R. K. 1988. “Eleventh Canadian geotechnical colloquium: Contaminant migration through groundwater—The role of modeling in the design of barriers.” Can. Geotech. J. 25 (4): 778–798. https://doi.org/10.1139/t88-087.
Rowe, R. K., R. M. Quigley, and J. R. Booker. 1995. Clayey barrier systems for waste disposal facilities. New York: Spon.
Saghravani, S. R., S. A. B. Mustapha, S. B. Ibrahim, M. K. Yusoff, and S. F. Saghravani. 2011. “Phosphorus migration in an unconfined aquifer using MODFLOW and MT3DMS.” J. Environ. Eng. Landscape Manage. 19 (4): 271–277. https://doi.org/10.3846/16486897.2011.634053.
Shores, A., M. Laituri, and G. Butters. 2017. “Produced water surface spills and the risk for BTEX and naphthalene groundwater contamination.” Water Air Soil Pollut. 228 (11): 435. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-017-3618-8.
Smyl, D., F. Ghasemzadeh, and M. Pour-Ghaz. 2016. “Modeling water absorption in concrete and mortar with distributed damage.” Constr. Build. Mater. 125 (Oct): 438–449. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2016.08.044.
Terracon Consultants. 2018. Preliminary site assessment of 267 Western Boulevard project. Olathe, KS: Terracon Consultants Inc.
Walker, M. P., and J. R. Ash. 1998 “Flowable fill backfill for use in sequential excavations in contaminated soil.” In The design and application of controlled low-strength materials (Flowable Fill). West Conshohocken, PA: ASTM.
Zheng, C., and G. D. Bennett. 1995. Applied contaminant transport modeling: Theory and practice. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold.
Zheng, C., and P. Wang. 1999. MT3DMS: A modular three-dimensional multispecies transport model for simulation of advection, dispersion, and chemical reactions of contaminants in groundwater systems; documentation and user’s guide. Vicksburg, MS: US Army Engineer Research and Development Center.
Zhou, Y., Y. Jiang, D. An, Z. Ma, B. Xi, Y. Yang, and X. Lian. 2014. “Simulation on forecast and control for groundwater contamination of hazardous waste landfill.” Environ. Earth Sci. 72 (10): 4097–4104. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-014-3302-x.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Copyright
© 2020 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Dec 30, 2019
Accepted: Aug 5, 2020
Published online: Nov 9, 2020
Published in print: Feb 1, 2021
Discussion open until: Apr 9, 2021
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.