Coupled water and air flows through a bioremediation soil pile

Abstract The concept of the biopile is simple: a pile of contaminated soil formed for aerobic biological restoration. The operation of the biopile, however, is complex. The coupling or linking of the two key systems, for aeration and for irrigation, makes it prudent to analyze them together when designing the biopile. These analyses are further complicated by the linking of the boundary conditions' water pressure and soil saturation along the pipes used to extract the flows are dependent upon the water being sprayed on the surfaces of the pile. A finite difference model, called PILEFLOW, was developed to predict steady, coupled water and air flows through a biopile. The major parameters of PILEFLOW are the characteristics of the soil, the blower suction, the mass flow rate of the water spray, and the geometry of the pile.

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