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Mechanisms of virus removal during transport in unsaturated porous media
Author(s) -
Chu Yanjie,
Jin Yan,
Flury Markus,
Yates Marylynn V.
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
water resources research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.863
H-Index - 217
eISSN - 1944-7973
pISSN - 0043-1397
DOI - 10.1029/2000wr900308
Subject(s) - saturation (graph theory) , tracer , inert , porous medium , metal , sorption , colloid , porosity , water retention , vadose zone , chemical engineering , materials science , water flow , chemistry , adsorption , soil water , environmental engineering , environmental science , soil science , composite material , metallurgy , physics , combinatorics , nuclear physics , engineering , mathematics , organic chemistry
Previous studies suggest that sorption of colloidal particles onto the air‐water interface is an important mechanism for enhanced retention and retardation during transport in unsaturated systems. In this study, bacteriophages øX174 and MS‐2 and Br − tracer were introduced into sand columns of various water contents as a step function under constant flow rates. The results showed that when a “reactive” (water washed) sand was used, the retention of both Φ;X174 and MS‐2 increased significantly at low water saturation levels. However, when an “inert” (metals and metal oxides removed) sand was used, the effect of water content was minimal, although observable. These results suggest that in the presence of reactive solid surfaces, increased reactions at the solid‐water interface rather than at the air‐water interface dominates in virus removal and transport under unsaturated conditions. A model that incorporated reactions at both the solid‐water and air‐water interfaces was developed and successfully applied to the data.