Numerical Modeling of Steam Injection for the Removal of Nonaqueous Phase Liquids From the Subsurface 1. - Numerical Formulation

Water Resources Research, Vol 28, Num 2, pp.433-449, February 1992

MESHING
RESEARCH
CORNER

Earth Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley

Summary
A multidimensional integral finite difference numerical simulator is developed for modeling the steam displacement of nonaqueous phase liquid (NAPL) contaminants in shallow subsurface systems. This code, named STMVOC, considers three flowing phases, gas, aqueous, and NAPL; and three mass components, air, water, and an organic chemical. Interphase mass transfer of the components between any of the phases is calculated by assuming local chemical equilibrium between the phases, and adsorption of the chemical to the soil is included. Heat transfer occurs due to conduction and multiphase convection and includes latent heat effects. A general equation of state is implemented in the code for calculating the thermophysical properties of the NAPL chemical. This equation of state is primarily based on corresponding states methods of property estimation using a chemical's critical constants. The necessary constants are readily available for several hundred hazardous organic liquid chemicals. In part 2 (Faita et a]., this issue), the code is used to simulate two one-dimensional laboratory steam injection experiments and to examine the effect of NAPL properties on the steam displacement process.