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Article · Bulletin of the National Engineering Academy of the Republic of Kazakhstan · September 30, 2025

Experimental and numerical assessment of soil remediation contaminated by petroleum products using ethanol-based solutions

Dinara Turalina, Zh. S. Aitkhozha, Bakhbergen E. Bekbauov, Sagyn Omirbekov

Sagyn Omirbekov
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Abstract

The article presents the results of a study on the remediation process of an oil-contaminated porous medium, conducted within the framework of the grant project AP23483887 funded by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan. A reservoir filled with sand was used as the contaminated porous medium, which was first saturated with water, followed by the injection of oil. To reduce the interfacial tension between the oil and water and to enhance oil mobilization within the porous medium, ethanol solutions with two different concentrations were used. The effectiveness of the process was evaluated using a centrifuge, which allowed for determining the percentage of oil in the emulsion formed after washing. The results indicated that the ethanol solution with the highest concentration demonstrated the most significant pollutant displacement. In addition to the experimental investigation, numerical modeling using the two-phase Darcy law was conducted to simulate the displacement of the pollutant in porous media. Capillary diffusion was incorporated as part of the capillary pressure model to analyze fluid flow dynamics and pollutant mobilization.

Microbial bioremediation and biosurfactantsEnhanced Oil Recovery TechniquesGroundwater flow and contamination studiessoil remediationoil-contaminated soiloil mobilization

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