Using artificial neural networks
Environment pollution is one of the problems in oil processing (from extraction to consumption) and it has been intensified by industrialization and technological advances (Marianesko et al., 2011). By environment pollution, we refer to unwanted changes in physicochemical and biological properties of the main life resources like water, air, and soil so that the survival of man and other living creatures is threatened or their activity is limited (Motkaf and Eddy, 2014). Oil products are hazardous and resistive contaminators and include combinations that are biologically accumulated in food chain (Oroum 2003; Jafarzade Haghighifard et al., 2014). Oil spills or the products of crude oil include fat, lubricating oils, gasoline, and aromatic and halogenated carbohydrates (Fingas, 2010). In addition, oil spills contain groups of heavy metals (e.g. Pb, Ni, Se, As, Ba, Cd, and Hg) with destructive effects on environment. These compounds are the main causes of changes in soil fertility (Seyedalikhani et al., 2012; Ivanove et al., 1994). On the other hand, penetration of oil products into soil creates the risk of contamination of the ground waters. The extent of this risk depends on soil properties (porosity, penetrability, and moisture) as well as the nature and quantity of contaminators. After entering soil, hydrocarbons compete with water and air to fill the pores in soil (Karlos and Kolin, 1994). The available methods to dealt with oil spills are categorized into three categories of physical, chemical, and biological or a combination of them (Pournasr et al., 2012). Decision-making about the ideal method to control the contamination and remove the soil pollution is a complicated process that needs extensive survey of the condition of region and finding the common ways of pollution control. In fact, selecting the right technique to control or remove soil pollution depends on answers to the following questions:
- What is the objective of removing or controlling soil pollution?
- Given the biological sensitivities of the regions (plant coverage, animals, pollution dissemination potential, running waters, ground waters, land usage, etc.) is it necessary to remove the pollution? (pollution risk assessment)
- Are the side-effects of the chosen technique determined?
- Are the costs of implementing the technique determined?
- Is the method feasible outside the lab given the factors like the breadth and depth of the operation?
- Is there a plan to manage the pollutant after removing them from the soil?
- Is there a plan to separate pollutant from soil or reinitiate the previous land usage?
Among the methods to find the optimum way for environment management, mathematical methods are notable. These methods are implemented as multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) or artificial intelligence (AI) models.