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Influence of Petroleum Deposit Geometry on Long Term Persistence of Residual Crude Oil

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dc.contributor.authorLi, Bochengen
dc.contributor.committeechairWiddowson, Mark A.en
dc.contributor.committeememberMoglen, Glenn Emeryen
dc.contributor.committeememberBoardman, Gregory D.en
dc.contributor.departmentCivil and Environmental Engineeringen
dc.date.accessioned2015-07-02T08:02:00Zen
dc.date.available2015-07-02T08:02:00Zen
dc.date.issued2015-07-01en
dc.description.abstractFollowing the DWH oil spill event, crude oil reaching the shoreline of Gulf of Mexico produced petroleum oil deposit with a range of distinct geometries, including sphere tar balls and horizontal tar sheets. Numerical models were developed based on the Deep Water Horizon oil spill conditions to evaluate the influence of deposit geometry on long term persistence of residual NAPL oil. Two extreme deposit geometries were modeled in this study: the horizontal tar sheet and the spherical tar ball. Both two-dimensional modeling approach and three-dimensional modeling approach were applied to compare two contrasting geometries. The two-dimensional model results showed that sheet geometry deposits exhibited a greater obstruction to groundwater flow relative to the spherical deposits and induced a larger sulfate reducing zone downgradient of the NAPL source, resulting in significantly greater sulfate-based biodegradation of benzene. Three-dimensional models were constructed to assess the influence of key geometry parameters on oil deposit fate and persistence. Three parameters affecting deposit's geometric structure were recognized, including the upper horizontal area of the sheet deposit, the thickness of the sheet deposit, and the radius of the sphere deposit. The three-dimensional model results suggested that thickness of the sheet deposit and radius of the sphere deposit were important geometry factors impacting the fate and long term persistence of residual NAPL oil in the coastal environment. However, the influence of deposit geometry differed depending on the solubility of the different NAPL components. When high solubility compound and low solubility compound both exist in the oil deposit, the influence of deposit geometry on benzene degradation was significant, while the influence on naphthalene was almost negligible.en
dc.description.degreeMaster of Scienceen
dc.format.mediumETDen
dc.identifier.othervt_gsexam:5839en
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10919/54007en
dc.publisherVirginia Techen
dc.rightsIn Copyrighten
dc.rights.urihttp://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/en
dc.subjectPetroleum oil depositen
dc.subjectgeometryen
dc.subjectnumerical modelen
dc.subjectbiodegradationen
dc.subjectDeepwater Horizon oil spillen
dc.subjectSEAM3Den
dc.titleInfluence of Petroleum Deposit Geometry on Long Term Persistence of Residual Crude Oilen
dc.typeThesisen
thesis.degree.disciplineCivil Engineeringen
thesis.degree.grantorVirginia Polytechnic Institute and State Universityen
thesis.degree.levelmastersen
thesis.degree.nameMaster of Scienceen

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