CHAPTER 3 DKA5C
Water solubility
Maximum amount of a contaminant that can be dissolved in the water at a specified temperature.
Chemical fate is the eventual short-term or long-term disposition of chemicals, usually to another chemical or storage. Examples of short-terms and long-term fates
Chemical
PCB PCB CO Benzene Ammonia
Media
Soil and water Atmosphere Water Water Soil and water
Short-term fate
Absorbed to soil Absorbed to aerosols Reactions to carbonate and bicarbonate Absorbed to suspended particles Reaction to ammonium
Long-term fate
Biomediated degradation Photocatalyzed degradation Photosynthesis to oxygen and biomass Boiremediated degradation Boiremediated degradation
Soil, the fragile and fertile interface between the atmosphere and the subterranean realm, is characterized by massive transfer of mass and energy.
Energy and mas fluxes through this porous medium of the soil are not significant for the healthy functioning of soil as the clean and productive base for agriculture, but also they are critical for the role that the soil plays in protecting the environment of both underground surface reserves of water.
A transport process, as used herein, is one that moves chemicals and other properties of the fluid through the environment. Diffusion of chemicals Molecular Diffusion Convection or advection Turbulent diffusion Dispersion Interfacial transfer Multiphase transport
Mixing is a rate-related parameter, in that most rates of reaction or transport are dependent on mixing in environmental system. When mixing is dominant, the first order rate equation can be described as:
A important concept for environment transport is resistances. The inverse of a rate parameter is a resistance to chemical transport. Or in equation form :
1/rate parameter = resistance to chemical transport
As specific chemical element and compound may exist in groundwater in any of the following forms:
Free ion surrounded by water molecules Insoluble species Metal ligand complexes Absorbed species Specie held on ion exchange Species that differ by oxidation state.
Abiotic refers to those that are non biological in nature. Biotic involves mass consumption of the chemicals by microorganism.
Advection - dissolved substances carried along with bulk fluid flow. Hydrodynamic Dispersion Solute spreads out from path expected to be followed by advection alone.
Pore channel velocity: molecules travel at different velocities. Mixing of pore channels, tortuosity, branching. Differences in pore sizes ( different velocities ) Variables conductivity in soil layers. Molecular diffusion
Abiotic process : to those that are nonbiological in nature. The microorganisms involved in the biotic process:
Acid base reaction Hydrolysis of organic chemical Oxidations Complexation Precipitation & dissolution Exsolution & votilization Radioactive decay Sorption
Biotic processes : involve mass consumption of the chemicals by microorganisms, often referred as biodegradation.
The principles discussed in the previous section will enable us to formulate conceptually how NAPLs move into the subsurface. Because of some important effects of density of NAPLs on the transport phenomena, it is convenient to treat the LNAPLs and DNAPLs separately Compound which display extremely low aqueous solubility can exist as a separate liquid phase in groundwater systems, if present in sufficient quantities.
In groundwater system, these contaminants phase are referred to as nonaqueous phase liquids (NAPLs) and their behavior will be fundamentally different from that of the bulk aqueous phase.
Low-solubility organic compounds with density greater than water can exist as a dense NAPL (DNAPL) phase: their characteristics are fundamentally different from those LNAPLs.
J =-D*C/X
This equation applicable when The soil is saturated Flow is steady Darcys Law is applicable
Q= rate of water flow, K=hydraulic conductivity, A= column cross sectional area, dh/dl=hydraulic gradient
Q =-KA dh/dl
Transport time of groundwater between two wells. Calculation of groundwater velocity: unfractured clayey aquitard. Calculation of groundwater velocty and travel time across an unfractured clay aquitard. DNAPL movement in a groundwater.