Abstract
Aquifer remediation with in situ soil washing techniques and enhanced
oil removal typically involve the injection of liquid solutions into the
geological formation to displace and mobilize non-aqueous phase liquids
(NAPLs). The efficiency of these systems is oftentimes low because the
displacing fluid bypasses large quantities of NAPL due to the inherent
complexity of a heterogeneous natural system. Here, chaotic advection
generated by a rotating periodic injection pulse is proposed as a method
to enhance NAPL removal and mixing. To evaluate the method, we perform
two-phase flow simulations in multiple realizations of random
permeability fields with different correlation structures and
connectivity between injection and extraction wells embedded in a
five-spot pattern. Results show that chaotic advection can significantly
improve removal efficiency and mixing depending on several controlling
factors. Chaotic advection effects are more significant under
unfavorable conditions, i.e., when injection and extraction wells are
well-connected through preferential channels, permeabilities are highly
heterogeneous, and/or the mobility ratio between the wetting and the
non-wetting fluid is larger than one. Removal efficiency reaches its
maximum value when the Kubo number is close to one, i.e., when the
saturation front travels one range of the permeability field in an
injection pulse. These effects can develop in just a few cycles.
However, removal efficiency should undergo first an early stage with
detrimental effects in order to maximize removal in the long term.
Chaotic advection not only enhances NAPL removal and mixing, but also
reduces the uncertainty, making the system more reliable and less
dependent on heterogeneity.