Nonideal transport of reactive solutes in heterogeneous porous media 2. Quantitative analysis of the Borden natural-gradient field experiment

doi:10.1016/S0169-7722(97)00036-3

Journal of Contaminant Hydrology

Volume 28, Issues 1–2, October 1997, Pages 115-155

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0169-7722(97)00036-3 Get rights and content

Abstract

Field experiments constitute an integral component of research on transport and fate of contaminants in the subsurface. One of the most well known of the few field experiments performed with reactive solutes is the natural-gradient experiment conducted at the Borden site during 1982 to 1984. A major finding of the experiment was that the transport of the reactive, organic compounds was nonideal. First, the velocities of the centers of mass of the plumes decreased with time, which was reflected in a temporal increase in effective retardation. Second, the longitudinal spreading observed for the organic solutes was about three times larger than that of the nonreactive tracers for an equivalent travel distance. Third, the breakthrough curves measured at selected monitoring points exhibited greater asymmetry compared to the nonreactive tracers. The cause(s) of the nonideal transport observed for the organic solutes has remained unexplained, despite a number of attempts. We have used a multi-scale, multi-factor mathematical model to successfully predict the displacement and spreading behavior of the tetrachloroethene and tetrachloromethane plumes. Based on our analyses, we conclude that a near-field trend of increasing sorption capacity was a primary cause of the deceleration of the centers of mass of the organic-solute plumes. The coupled effects of nonlinear sorption and enhanced spreading caused by spatially variable hydraulic conductivity and spatially variable sorption also influenced plume displacement. In addition, it is possible that the combination of spatially variable hydraulic conductivity and sorption contributed directly to plume deceleration. However, a magnitude of sorption variability larger than has been measured to date is required for this contribution to be significant. The combined spatial variability of hydraulic conductivity and sorption, and a potential negative cross correlation between them, appears to have been the major cause of the enhanced longitudinal spreading observed for the organic-solute plumes in comparison to the nonreactive-solute plumes. However, nonlinear sorption, the spatial trend of increasing sorption capacity, and rate-limited sorption/mass transfer also influenced spreading behavior. In total, it is evident that the transport of the organic compounds during the Borden natural-gradient field experiment was influenced by several interacting factors and coupled processes, and that accurate prediction of the observed behavior requires the use of a mathematical model that accounts for this complexity.

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Research paperNonideal transport of reactive solutes in heterogeneous porous media 2. Quantitative analysis of the Borden natural-gradient field experiment

Abstract

J. Contam. Hydrol.

Chemosphere

J. Contam. Hydrol.

J. Contam. Hydrol.

J. Contam. Hydrol.

J. Hydrol.

J. Contam. Hydrol.

J. Contam. Hydrol.

J. Contam. Hydrol.

J. Hydrol.

J. Contam. Hydrol.

J. Hydrol.

Spatial variability of perchloroethene sorption and correlations to sediment properties in the Borden aquifer, Ontario, Canada

Long-term sorption of halogenated organic chemicals by aquifer material. I. Equilibrium

Environ. Sci. Technol.

Long-term sorption of halogenated organic chemicals by aquifer material. II. Intraparticle diffusion

Environ. Sci. Technol.

Sorption rate studies with halogenated organic chemicals and sandy aquifer materials—implications for solute transport and groundwater remediation

Three-dimensional statistical moment analysis of the Stanford/Waterloo Borden tracer data

Water Resour. Res.

Comparison of field-based distribution coefficients and retardation factors to laboratory and other determinations

Nonequilibrium sorption: Investigation at microscopic to megascopic scales

Transport of rate-limited sorbing solutes in heterogeneous porous media: application of a one-dimensional multi-factor nonideality model to field data

Water Resour. Res.

The influence of solute size, pore-water velocity, and intraparticle porosity on solute dispersion and transport in soil

Water Resour. Res.

Transport of reactive contaminants in heterogeneous porous media

Rev. Geophysics

Nonideal transport of reactive solutes in heterogenous porous media. 3 Model testing and data analysis using calibration versus prediction

Journal of Hydrology

Modelling the transport of solutes influenced by multiprocess nonequilibrium

Water Resour. Res.

Rate-limited sorption and nonequilibrium transport of organic chemicals in low organic carbon aquifer materials

Water Resour. Res.

Nonideal transport of rate-limited reactive solutes in heterogeneous porous media: multi-scale, multi-factor approach

Nonreactive and reactive solute transport in three-dimensional heterogeneous porous media: mean displacement, plume spreading, and uncertainty

Water Resour. Res.

Sorption of halogenated organic solutes onto aquifer materials: comparisons between laboratory results and field observations

A natural gradient experiment on solute transport in a sand aquifer. IV. Sorption of organic solutes and its influence on mobility

Water Resour. Res.

Diffusion: mass transfer in fluid systems

Transport of kinetically sorbing solute by steady random velocity in heterogeneous porous formations

J. Fluid Mech.

Flow and Transport in Porous Formations

Research paper
Nonideal transport of reactive solutes in heterogeneous porous media 2. Quantitative analysis of the Borden natural-gradient field experiment