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Transport of Organic Compounds With Saturated Groundwater Flow: Experimental Results
Author(s) -
Hutzler Neil J.,
Crittenden John C.,
Gierke John S.,
Johnson Amy S.
Publication year - 1986
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/wr022i003p00285
Subject(s) - dispersion (optics) , groundwater , tracer , flow (mathematics) , diffusion , retardation factor , loam , radius , vadose zone , soil science , mechanics , materials science , chemistry , soil water , thermodynamics , geotechnical engineering , environmental science , geology , chromatography , column chromatography , computer security , computer science , nuclear physics , optics , physics
Measured breakthrough and elution curves for trichloroethene, bromoform, and chloride in columns of a sandy loam soil were compared to various models describing one‐dimensional chemical transport through saturated soil columns. The local equilibrium model and the segregated flow model approximate the retardation of organic chemicals but do not account for the amount of spreading seen in the breakthrough and elution data. A dispersed flow, local equilibrium model (DFLEM) could simulate the breakthrough of the organic chemicals and tracer but only if the axial dispersion coefficient were adjusted to match the breakthrough data. Existing correlations for axial dispersion based on soil and fluid properties could not predict the apparent dispersion seen in the miscible displacement experiments. A dispersed flow, pore and surface diffusion model (DFPSDM) could also simulate the chemical break‐through if an aggregate radius were adjusted to fit the data. Neither the adjusted radii nor the apparent dispersivities could be related to the hydraulic characteristics of the column or to soil properties. Both models were able to reasonably predict the elution of chemical from the column when either an aggregate radius or an apparent dispersivity were estimated from the breakthrough data. Neither the DFLEM nor the DFPSDM were able to predict the increased asymmetry or the leftward shift of the breakthrough data when the average pore water velocity was increased from 12.0 to 36.6 cm/h. While the DFPSDM appears to be more phenomenologically correct, this work suggests that an additional kinetic mechanism should be included in the model.