iROS Case Study:

Accelerating clean-up of a multi-million gallon fuel plume spread over 20-acres.

How do you do a 15-20 year clean-up in only 6-9 years?

 

Environmental Data Solutions Group, LLC (EDSG) used an integrated remediation optimization strategy (iROS) to dramatically accelerate light non-aqueous phase liquid (LNAPL) recovery from a contaminated site in Southern California with more than a million gallons of free product covering more than 20 acres. Initially, Vacuum Enhanced Free Product Recovery (VEFPR) was implemented as the remedial action, and the VEFPR systems was expected to operate for 10-15 years using four (4) O&M technicians. EDSG applied the 4-step iROS process at the site, and is implementing the key recommendations. The key recommendations included three new applications of technology. The technologies include: Continuous Fluid Level Monitoring System (CFLMS), which automatically controls the operation of the well pump based on the real-time measurement of LNAPL level in the well to maximize free product recovery; integrated Electronic Field Tools (EFT) that input field-collected data directly into the Remediation Management Information System (RMIS); and RMIS, a data storage and query system that allows for access and visualization of all project data through graphics and reports, customized to the needs of the user. Preliminary results indicate that the site will be clean in 6-9 years, using only 1-2 technicians. 

The client’s requirement for the site had the usual components of regulatory drivers and tight budgets. In addition, the client had a strict schedule to meet. The key project goals were:

• Regulatory – Get site closure. Demonstrate and prove to regulatory agency that the recoverable hydrocarbons have been removed. Have reliable, defensible data and reports presented in an easily-understood format. Maintain exemplary relationship with the agency. Stay in compliance with all site permits.

• Schedule –  Finish recovery prior to expiration of property lease and special assess permits.

• Budget  -  Minimize life cycle costs and annual O&M costs.  

• Internal -  Easily generate tables and graphics for high level briefings and to monitor on-going progress on a daily basis. 

EDSG’s iROS design process resulted in many recommendations.  Those summarized below have the greatest impact on the success of the project:

Recommendation	Solution
Maximize free product recovery and reduce long term operational and maintenance costs by making real-time data available for the vacuum enhanced free product recovery (VEFPR) system and for each recovery well.	Developed a new tool, Continuous Fluid Level Monitoring System (CFLMS), to provide real time fluid readings and pump automation in each recovery well.
Maximize field labor efficiency by minimizing the time spent on manually collecting field data.	Implement CFLMS for the recovery wells, SCADA for the treatment system, and use electronic field tools for the collection of all manual data to meet permit requirements.
Maximize field labor efficiency by minimizing the time spent on well monitoring. Maximize the time field personnel spend troubleshooting and optimizing the wells to increase free product recovery.	VEFPR system was augmented with CFLMS so that each individual well performance for all 200 plus recovery wells can by evaluated within an hour to identify which wells need to be optimized that day.
Reduce treatment costs by eliminating recovery and treatment of groundwater.	Use CFLMS to control pump operation based on parameters set by the remediation team. In this case, the pump is set to automatically turn off when the free product approaches minimal thickness.
Minimize the ability for water levels to rise upon rapid removal of free product, resulting in pinching out the free product in the formation and decreasing long term recovery.	Install CFLMS tools in recovery and monitoring wells to decrease free product thickness in the recovery wells to approximately 50% of the original thickness.  Further reductions in the thickness of the recovery wells will not be made until there has been observed decreases in the free product thickness in the monitoring wells.
Maximize remediation team efficiency by turning the data into information needed to optimize the remediation system. Eliminate redundant data entry into multiple systems and time spent on formatting data tables.	Store all project data such as remediation system data, CFLMS data, analytical data, field collected data, boring logs etc, in a Remediation Management Information System (RMIS), and program real-time queries that allow for easy visualization and evaluation of the data.
Guarantee 100% Compliance on all permits.	Enter all permit requirements in the RMIS, which will notify the remediation team if the system is operating near or out of permit ranges. The RMIS will also notify the responsible team member of compliance deadlines.
Provide the client with easy access to system information to ensure that the system performance is maximize.	Use the RMIS Client Interface to provide information to the client on a real-time basis.

Several of these automation and information management recommendations were challenging to implement with off-the-shelf equipment and software. EDSG developed the new field instrumentation and data management systems that are now available for use on other sites. These technologies are described below.

• Remediation Management Information System (RMIS) is like a data warehouse and query system that allows for storage and visualization of ALL project data through graphics and reports, customized to the needs of the user.  RMIS automatically generates action item lists for field personnel based on all project data, tracks permit and compliance activities, tracks budget and schedules, and generates the tables and graphics needed to communicate progress and success. 

 

• Continuous Fluid Level Monitoring System (CFLMS) (US patent pending) is an instrument co-developed by EDSG.  CFLMS is integrated into the RMIS that automatically controls extraction pump operation based on the real-time measurement of NAPL level in a well.  Since the project team can read real-time depth to product and depth to water measurement in each well equipped with CFLMS, 100+ wells can be assessed in less than an hour to identify which wells need attention that day.  The field crew can then spend its time optimizing and troubleshooting to maximize recovery, rather than on monitoring to determine which wells are recovering.  The result is maximized NAPL recovery rate, since each well is continually optimized.

 

• Wireless Electronic Field Tools (WFTs) are used to input manually-collected field data directly into the centralized RMIS.  RMIS integrates the real-time data from the WFTs with all the stored project data, and uses the data to automatically generate compliance notifications and action items.  All manually-collected site data, such as soil boring logs, groundwater monitoring levels, field notes, and remediation system data, is collected and maintained in a central database and available in real time.  Data is entered into one integrated system, eliminating the need for multiple inputs and analysis of multiple formats.

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