Surfactant and foam processes have been widely used to enhance oil recovery from petroleum-bearing geological formations, and also been recently extended to remediate non-aqueous-phase-liquid (NAPL) contaminants from the shallow subsurface. This study investigates the potential of using surfactant and foam processes for the in-situ remediation treatments within a military base in South Korea: first, optimizing the subsurface permeability and net-to-gross (NTG) values based on history matching and machine-learning algorithm; second, performing simulations that successfully predict the surfactant/foam processes applied in the field; and third, expanding simulations that evaluate different scenarios that might have been used for field tests.

The site for the pilot-scale testing, located in the existing fuel-distribution facilities within a military base, has 5 m × 5 m treatment area with 3 m depth, prepared with 3 injection wells and 3 extraction wells. The NAPL of interest is a mixture of various oil compounds showing the average oil saturation of 5%. The overall remediation process applied consists of two major steps: the first is a 20-day injection of surfactant solution (Tween 80) to mobilize the oleic phase trapped by capillary force, and the second is a 3-day injection of foam (i.e., gas and surfactant co-injection) to control the mobility of injected gas and overcome the heterogeneity of the underground system.

The major findings of this study are (i) surfactant/foam processes can be an effective means of NAPL recovery from shallow subsurface recovering more than 90% of contaminants, and (ii) computer simulations can be a useful tool for evaluating the in-situ treatment and improving the design of similar operations.

表面活性剂和泡沫工艺已广泛用于提高含油地质地层的石油采收率，最近还扩展到修复浅层地下的非水相液体 (NAPL) 污染物。本研究调查了在韩国军事基地内使用表面活性剂和泡沫工艺进行原位修复处理的潜力：首先，基于历史匹配和机器学习优化地下渗透率和净毛比 (NTG) 值算法; 其次，进行模拟，成功预测现场应用的表面活性剂/泡沫过程；第三，扩展模拟，评估可能用于现场测试的不同场景。

中试场地位于军事基地内现有的燃料分配设施内，处理面积为5 m×5 m，深度为3 m，准备了3个注入井和3个提取井。感兴趣的 NAPL 是各种油化合物的混合物，平均含油饱和度为 5%。整个修复过程包括两个主要步骤：第一个是为期 20 天的表面活性剂溶液 (Tween 80) 注入，以动员被毛细力捕获的油相，第二个是为期 3 天的泡沫注入（即，气和表面活性剂共注）以控制注入气体的流动性并克服地下系统的非均质性。

本研究的主要发现是 (i) 表面活性剂/泡沫工艺可以成为从浅层地下回收 90% 以上污染物的 NAPL 回收的有效手段，以及 (ii) 计算机模拟可以成为评估原位的有用工具处理和改进类似操作的设计。