Investigation and Selection of Remediation Technologies for Petroleum-Contaminated Soils Using a Decision Support System

We have developed a decision support system that prompts the user for site and contaminant characteristics from petroleum extraction and transportation processes and filters out those technologies that are most adequate for site remediation from the categories of remedial methods in its database. The computerized rule-based structure facilitates the evaluation and selection of the most applicable and feasible treatment technology for petroleum-contaminated soil on a site polluted from pipeline deterioration, which this paper presents as a case study. The technology-screening feature is a useful tool in the early evaluation phase of the soil remediation process and can assist specialists in the simulation of various scenarios. The system has accurately estimated pollutant migration and extent for preliminary soil investigations and provided recommendations in accordance with the current remedial actions taken at these petroleum-contaminated sites. The decision elaboration is close to the situations often encountered in real life.