Control of a biopile for hydrocarbon decontamination

A biopile is built for decontamination of soil. Increasing the efficiency of the process the cost of such bioremediation technology will become more competitive with those less environmental friendly. The biological process may be favored by the improvement of environment conditions within the biopile. In order to create these optimal conditions a biological model is created. Such model allows the statement of an optimization problem where the variable is the O₂ concentration. Control of air flow in the biopile allows the control of O₂ concentration. The study of the hydraulic behavior of air and water using simulation tools may determine the possibilities of controlling them. This paper presents both studies the control structure based on feedforward and feedback control. Some simulation results are presented for a realistic biopile.