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Application of the Stefan‐Maxwell Equations to determine limitations of Fick's law when modeling organic vapor transport in sand columns
Author(s) -
Baehr Arthur L.,
Bruell Clifford J.
Publication year - 1990
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/wr026i006p01155
Subject(s) - fick's laws of diffusion , porous medium , tortuosity , thermodynamics , sink (geography) , henry's law , diffusion , mechanics , porosity , materials science , chemistry , physics , solubility , cartography , geography , composite material
The organic component of the vapor phase of a porous medium contaminated by an immiscible organic liquid can be significant enough to violate the condition of a dilute species diffusing in a bulk phase assumed by Fick's law. The Stefan‐Maxwell equations provide a more comprehensive model for quantifying steady state transport for a vapor phase composed of arbitrary proportions of its constituents. The application of both types of models to the analysis of column experiments demonstrates that use of a Fickian‐based transport model can lead to significant overestimates of soil tortuosity constants. Further, the physical displacement of naturally occurring gases (e.g., O 2 ), predicted by the Stefan‐Maxwell model but not by application of Fick's Law, can be attributed improperly to a sink term such as microbial degradation in a Fickian‐based transport model.