Advantages of using adaptive remeshing and parallel processing for modelling biodegradation in groundwater

Watson, Ian; Crouch, Roger S.; Bastian, Peter; Oswald, Sascha E.

doi:10.1016/j.advwatres.2005.01.003

Cited by 12 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…1 and 2), inclusion of aqueous speciation and mineral solubility equilibria (Table S2 in the Supporting Information), and parameter values in specific rate equations (Table S3). The same data set (), used to test the previous model ( , ), was used for calibration of the current model. Key changes to the previous model included increased model complexity in terms of (1) conceptualization and mathematical representation of the physical heterogeneity of the permeability field, (2) full 2-D simulation of reactive transport, also including microbial acclimatization in simple form, (3) inclusion of fermentation processes with subsequent respiration of H 2 (aq) as TEAPs, and (4) inclusion of Fe 2+ and Mn 2+ adsorption as surface complexation reactions, instead of considering the mineral phases FeCO 3 (s) and MnCO 3 (s).…”

Section: Modeling Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Modeling Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To deal with the computational burden imposed by the additional level of detail in our model, our methodology combines the advanced computational techniques of unstructured mesh generation, automatic adaptive meshing, multi-grid solution methods, and parallel load code balancing. Test cases have verified the code and model formulation, and have been used to assess the computational efficiency gains provided by these numerical methods for large multicomponent reactive transport problems (22). Biodegradation Chemistry.…”

Section: Modeling Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Modeling the Dynamics of Fermentation and Respiratory Processes in a Groundwater Plume of Phenolic Contaminants Interpreted from Laboratory- to Field-Scale

Watson

Oswald

Banwart

et al. 2005

Environ. Sci. Technol.

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A biodegradation model with consecutive fermentation and respiration processes, developed from microcosm experiments and simulated mathematically with microbial growth kinetics, has been implemented into a field-scale reactive transport model of a groundwater plume of phenolic contaminants. Simulation of the anaerobic plume core with H2 and acetate as intermediate products of biodegradation allows the rates and parameter values forfermentation processes and individual respiratory terminal electron accepting processes (TEAPS) to be estimated using detailed, spatially discrete, hydrochemical field data. The modeling of field-scale plume development includes consideration of microbial acclimatization, substrate toxicity toward degradation, bioavailability of mineral oxides, and adsorption of biogenic Fe(ll) species in the aquifer, identified from complementary laboratory process studies. The results suggest that plume core processes, particularly fermentation and Fe(lll)-reduction, are more important for degradation than previously thought, possibly with a greater impact than plume fringe processes (aerobic respiration, denitrification, and SO4-reduction). The accumulation of acetate as a fermentation product within the plume contributes significantly to the mass balance for carbon. These results demonstrate the value of quantifying fermentation products within organic contaminant plumes and strongly suggest that the conceptual model selected for reactive processes plays a dominant role in the quantitative assessment of risk reduction by naturally occurring biodegradation processes.

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Section: Modeling Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Modeling Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Modeling Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Modeling the Dynamics of Fermentation and Respiratory Processes in a Groundwater Plume of Phenolic Contaminants Interpreted from Laboratory- to Field-Scale

Watson

Oswald

Banwart

et al. 2005

Environ. Sci. Technol.

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“…Their results were similar to those from a sophisticated and fully coupled multi-phase, multi-constituent numerical simulator. Watson et al (2005) reported using unstructured grids to simulate fieldscale reactive biogeochemistry including Monod kinetics, NAPL dissolution, mineral precipitation/dissolution, and ion exchange. They used parallel processing and locally adaptive remeshing depending on the relatively reactive zones around the fringes and less reactive zones in the core to reduce the runtime.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modelling of benzene distribution in the subsurface of an abandoned gas plant site after a long term of groundwater table fluctuation

Yang

Zhou

et al. 2012

Hydrological Processes

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The non‐aqueous phase liquid simulator was used to model and interpret the occurrence of a thin benzene‐contaminated soil layer 9.0 m below the groundwater table in an abandoned gas plant site. The simulator was first evaluated in column tests under similar conditions to the contaminated site. Saturation–capillary pressure (S–P) relationships were extended from the laboratory scale of the column tests to the field scale of the subsurface at the abandoned site. Dynamic boundary conditions were established in order to prevent the model from generating excessive vertical velocities. The modelled benzene layer formation process agreed well with the in situ observations. With falling and then rising of the water table, benzene release from the surface migrated downward and then upward and distributed itself below and above the water table. Biochemical degradation of benzene made the distribution discontinuous in the subsurface. These two factors resulted in the thin benzene‐contaminated layer below the groundwater table. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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“…Parallel computation provides an alternative that may facilitate the simulation of fine grids at large scales. Although parallel computation strategies have been used in ground water modeling and ground water remediation optimization (e.g., Ashby et al 1999;Garrett et al 1999;Payne et al 2003;Sinha and Minsker 2007;Wai and Lu, 2000;Watson et al 2005), parallel computational environments have not been applied directly to solve flow and transport problems in large fine-grid domains. The recent development of the multiple-grid method provides an efficient platform for extending existing parallel computation strategies to simulation domains that require fine discretization throughout the domain.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Assembly Model for Simulation of Large‐Scale Ground Water Flow and Transport

Huang

Christ²,

Goltz

2008

Groundwater

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When managing large-scale ground water contamination problems, it is often necessary to model flow and transport using finely discretized domains--for instance (1) to simulate flow and transport near a contamination source area or in the area where a remediation technology is being implemented; (2) to account for small-scale heterogeneities; (3) to represent ground water-surface water interactions; or (4) some combination of these scenarios. A model with a large domain and fine-grid resolution will need extensive computing resources. In this work, a domain decomposition-based assembly model implemented in a parallel computing environment is developed, which will allow efficient simulation of large-scale ground water flow and transport problems using domain-wide grid refinement. The method employs common ground water flow (MODFLOW) and transport (RT3D) simulators, enabling the solution of almost all commonly encountered ground water flow and transport problems. The basic approach partitions a large model domain into any number of subdomains. Parallel processors are used to solve the model equations within each subdomain. Schwarz iteration is applied to match the flow solution at the subdomain boundaries. For the transport model, an extended numerical array is implemented to permit the exchange of dispersive and advective flux information across subdomain boundaries. The model is verified using a conventional single-domain model. Model simulations demonstrate that the proposed model operated in a parallel computing environment can result in considerable savings in computer run times (between 50% and 80%) compared with conventional modeling approaches and may be used to simulate grid discretizations that were formerly intractable.

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Advantages of using adaptive remeshing and parallel processing for modelling biodegradation in groundwater

Cited by 12 publications

References 35 publications

Modeling the Dynamics of Fermentation and Respiratory Processes in a Groundwater Plume of Phenolic Contaminants Interpreted from Laboratory- to Field-Scale

Modeling the Dynamics of Fermentation and Respiratory Processes in a Groundwater Plume of Phenolic Contaminants Interpreted from Laboratory- to Field-Scale

Modelling of benzene distribution in the subsurface of an abandoned gas plant site after a long term of groundwater table fluctuation

An Assembly Model for Simulation of Large‐Scale Ground Water Flow and Transport

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