About this Research Topic
Groundwater in many areas and cities worldwide suffers from pollution due to industrial processes e.g., by chlorinated solvents due to dry cleaning activities in the past. The removal of these components and the revitalization of these plots is a costly and lengthy processes, frequently leading to brownfields in otherwise valuable locations. On the other hand, shallow geothermal energy, Aquifer Thermal Energy Storage (ATES) and Borehole Thermal Energy Storage (BTES) are upcoming in many cities worldwide as sustainable energy source and storage in combination with other energy sources, heat pumps and district heating cooling solutions. These ATES and BTES systems store their heat and cold in the groundwater in the subsurface until further use. In groundwater protection policies these systems are addressed as imposing risk to groundwater quality.
Despite the fact that it may pose a risk e.g., by mobilizing NAPLs, in the last decade the proof of principle of accelerated bioremediation of groundwater by using the introduced heat and mixing of groundwater in ATES systems was demonstrated and verified in several pilot studies in Denmark and the Netherlands. In lab studies BTES showed an 8-fold increase in biodegradation rates compared to Natural Attenuation of VOCl contaminants in groundwater. Further an LCA study in Shanghai showed that bioremediation could be accelerated at about half of the costs when combined with an ATES system.
This approach also known as ‘Remedia-TES’ or ‘TES-plus’ - thus the combination of soil and groundwater remediation, sustainable heating and cooling and urban redevelopment - can become a strong driver in sustainable urban design. It allows for a joint approach for a multi-dimensional problem while being based on proven technologies and frequently applied procedures.
The Remedia-TES approach, a Nature Based Solution, combines the transition to sustainable energy and the protection of drinking water sources from industrial contaminants. It intersects with technological and sustainable urban planning aspects as well as biogeochemical and hydrological understanding of the subsurface with currently many open gaps in knowledge including e.g., those related to effects of contaminant mixing and temperature change, hydrological aspects, fundamental (bio)geochemical processes. Further, groundwater management, development of societal business cases on sustainable energy and climate adaptation are of interest.
Also of interest is research that helps tackle policy and institutional barriers that may hinder current upscaling of the technology, which requires new policy frameworks that enable more circular approaches as well as nexus approaches in water management policy and practice.
This Research Topic aims to combine articles from different disciplines including groundwater modelling, (bio)remediation, (bio)geochemistry, thermal energy production (heat and cold), sustainable urban planning, implementation in the built environment, landscape architecture, integrated water resources management (IWRM), water-energy nexus policy analysis, sustainability transitions and city planning to stimulate the transition to sustainable cities with clean groundwater.
Original papers, including case studies and demonstration/pilots, with integrated aspects e.g., storage of heat or cold combined with groundwater quality and groundwater resources management, active and natural based remediation approaches, integration of design of buildings (residential and commercial), interaction of subsurface infrastructure with aboveground spatial planning, or urban planning and policy for sustainability transitions are welcome. The Research Topic also aims at collecting contributions addressing the mechanistic understanding of the processes involved with laboratory experiments or modeling (biodegradation, temperature effects on fate and transport of contaminants, heat transport in the subsurface). Furthermore, contributions covering aspects like water and subsurface as leading parameter in spatial design or those that connect Remedia-TES to organizational aspects integrating groundwater quality and management under water scarcity due to climate change, energy production, B-TES and A-TES systems based district heating networks, ownership of clean groundwater and sustainable energy as well as water-energy-environment nexus are welcome. Therefore, a broad set-up of this article collection is aimed at in which the integrated use of A/B-TES will stimulate the circular economy as well as the development into carbon neutrality.
Despite the fact that it may pose a risk e.g., by mobilizing NAPLs, in the last decade the proof of principle of accelerated bioremediation of groundwater by using the introduced heat and mixing of groundwater in ATES systems was demonstrated and verified in several pilot studies in Denmark and the Netherlands. In lab studies BTES showed an 8-fold increase in biodegradation rates compared to Natural Attenuation of VOCl contaminants in groundwater. Further an LCA study in Shanghai showed that bioremediation could be accelerated at about half of the costs when combined with an ATES system.
This approach also known as ‘Remedia-TES’ or ‘TES-plus’ - thus the combination of soil and groundwater remediation, sustainable heating and cooling and urban redevelopment - can become a strong driver in sustainable urban design. It allows for a joint approach for a multi-dimensional problem while being based on proven technologies and frequently applied procedures.
The Remedia-TES approach, a Nature Based Solution, combines the transition to sustainable energy and the protection of drinking water sources from industrial contaminants. It intersects with technological and sustainable urban planning aspects as well as biogeochemical and hydrological understanding of the subsurface with currently many open gaps in knowledge including e.g., those related to effects of contaminant mixing and temperature change, hydrological aspects, fundamental (bio)geochemical processes. Further, groundwater management, development of societal business cases on sustainable energy and climate adaptation are of interest.
Also of interest is research that helps tackle policy and institutional barriers that may hinder current upscaling of the technology, which requires new policy frameworks that enable more circular approaches as well as nexus approaches in water management policy and practice.
This Research Topic aims to combine articles from different disciplines including groundwater modelling, (bio)remediation, (bio)geochemistry, thermal energy production (heat and cold), sustainable urban planning, implementation in the built environment, landscape architecture, integrated water resources management (IWRM), water-energy nexus policy analysis, sustainability transitions and city planning to stimulate the transition to sustainable cities with clean groundwater.
Original papers, including case studies and demonstration/pilots, with integrated aspects e.g., storage of heat or cold combined with groundwater quality and groundwater resources management, active and natural based remediation approaches, integration of design of buildings (residential and commercial), interaction of subsurface infrastructure with aboveground spatial planning, or urban planning and policy for sustainability transitions are welcome. The Research Topic also aims at collecting contributions addressing the mechanistic understanding of the processes involved with laboratory experiments or modeling (biodegradation, temperature effects on fate and transport of contaminants, heat transport in the subsurface). Furthermore, contributions covering aspects like water and subsurface as leading parameter in spatial design or those that connect Remedia-TES to organizational aspects integrating groundwater quality and management under water scarcity due to climate change, energy production, B-TES and A-TES systems based district heating networks, ownership of clean groundwater and sustainable energy as well as water-energy-environment nexus are welcome. Therefore, a broad set-up of this article collection is aimed at in which the integrated use of A/B-TES will stimulate the circular economy as well as the development into carbon neutrality.
Keywords: Aquifer Thermal Energy Storage, Groundwater Contamination, Spatial Urban Energy Planning, Integrated Sustainable Energy Technologies, Bioremediation
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
