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BIOPLUME III: NATURAL ATTENTUATION DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEM USER'S MANUAL - VERSION 1.0
Citation:
Rafai, H. S., S. Dendrou, B. Dendrou, J. R. Gonzales, C. J. Newell, L. Kennedy, AND J. T. Wilson. BIOPLUME III: NATURAL ATTENTUATION DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEM USER'S MANUAL - VERSION 1.0. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., EPA/600/R-98/010 (NTIS PB98-131642), 1998.
Impact/Purpose:
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Description:
The BIOPLUME III program is a two-dimensional, finite difference model for simulating the natural attenuation of organic contaminants in ground water due to the processes of advection, dispersion, sorption, and biodegradation. The model simulates the biodegradation of organic contaminants using a number of aerobic and anaerobic electron acceptors: oxygen, nitrate, iron (III), sulfate, and carbon dioxide. Over the past several years, the high cost and poor performance of many pump and treat remediation systems have led many researchers to consider natural attenuation as an alternative technology for ground water remediation (Newell et al., 1996). Researchers associated with the U.S. EPA's National Risk Management Research Laboratory in Ada, Oklahoma, have suggested that anaerobic pathways could be significant, or even the dominant degradation mechanism at many petroleum fuel sites (Wilson, 1994). As a result, The Air Force Center for Environmental Excellence (AFCEE), Technology Transfer Division, launched a three-point technology development effort in 1993, consisting of the following elements: 1) Field data collected at over 30 sites around the country (Wiedemeier et al., 1995a) analyzing aerobic and anaerobic processes; 2) A technical Protocol, outlining the approach, data collection techniques, and data analysis methods required for conducting an Air Force Intrinsic Remediation Study (Wiedemeier et al., 1995b); and 3) Two intrinsic remediation modeling tools: the BIOSCREEN model developed by Dr. Charles J. Newell of Groundwater Services, Inc. (GSI), and the BIOPLUME III model developed by Dr. Hanadi Rifai at Rice University. In addition, the Air Force also oversaw development of a modified version of a sophisticated ground water modeling platform known as Environmental Information System (EIS) developed by Dr. Stergios Dendrou and Dr. Basil Dendrou of ZEi/MicroEngineering, Inc., of Annandale, Virginia. This Windows"-based graphical platform model has been integrated with BIOPLUME III. The integration effort of the platform and the BIOPLUME III model was managed by the prime contractors, GSI and Deerinwater Environmental Management (DEM), and their subcontractors, Rice University and ZEi/MicroEngineering, respectively. The "team" was formed after review of the EIS system by AFCEE and EPA researchers who determined the inherent benefits of each modeling system would result in a more advanced and user-friendly natural attenuation model. Such a model was identified as a key requirement for broadening the use and acceptance of natural attenuation during the 1994 EPA/Air Force Natural Attenuation Symposium in Denver, Colorado.