Factors Affecting

Solute Transport
IWRE Lecture No. 7
Department of Agricultural Engineering
SUA
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Outline
 Factors affecting solute transport
 Transformation
 Retadation
 Attenuation

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1-D Advective-Dispersive equation
for solute transport with changes
C 2
C  b C  C  C *
DL 2  v x    
x x V t  t  rxn t
↑ ↑ ↑ ↑ ↑
Dispersion Advection Sorption Reaction Mass flux

C* = amount of solute sorbed/unit wt. of solid

rb = bulk density of aquifer
rxn = reaction of the solute (excluding sorption)
qv = volumetric water content
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Types of Reactions
 Reaction rate:
 Sufficiently fast and reversible
 Insufficiently fast and/or irreversible (relative to GW
flow)
 Location:
 Homogeneous reactions within a single phase
 Heterogeneous reactions in both phases
 Process:
 Surface reactions: adsorption; ion exchange
 Classical reactions: precipitation; dissolution

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Sorption
 Sorption is the transfer of the solute from
the liquid phase to the solid particles
 There are many different forms of sorption
depending on the type of attachment to
the solid particles
 Adsorption
 Chemisorption
 Absorption

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Adsorption vs. Absorption
 Adsorption - the process by which the solutes
cling to the solid surface due to its (-) charge
(Cation-exchange)
 Chemisorption is the process in which the
anions are attracted to the (+) charged sites on
the edges of clay particles
 Absorption is the process where the solutes
migrate into the pores of the particles

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Partitioning
 The distribution of solutes between the
solution and the solid phase
 Partitioning depends on the concentration
of the solutes present
 The higher the concentration the greater
the amount attached to the solid phase
 Linear (if the process is fast)
 Non-linear (if the process is slow)

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Linear Sorption Isotherm
C  Kd  C
*

C* = Mass of solute sorbed/wt. of solid

C = Conc. of solute in solution (mg/L)
Kd = Distribution coefficient (L/kg)
(= slope of the linear sorption
isotherm)

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Limitations of the Sorption Isotherm
 Theoretically, no upper limit to the amount sorbed
on to the surface (not true in real life)
 The coefficients are obtained by empirical fit to
experimental data

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Irreversible first-order kinetic
sorption model
C *
 k1  C
t
k1 = a first-order decay rate constant
 Rate of sorption is a function of the
concentration of solute remaining in solution
 The sorbed solutes do not desorb

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Reversible linear kinetic sorption
model
C *
 k 2  C  k3  C *

t
k2 = forward rate constant
k3 = backward rate constant
 This applies to situation where the rate of solute
sorption is related to the amount already sorbed
onto the surface and the reaction is reversible

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Sorption of Hydrophobic Compounds
(organic compounds)
 Organic compounds have differing
degrees of polarity
 When dissolved in water, they tend to be
attracted to surfaces less polar than water
 The fraction of organic solids in soils
become the preferred adsorptive sites for
organic compounds if the organic carbon
fraction (foc) > 1%

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Organic-Carbon Partition Coefficient
(Koc)
Kd
K oc 
f oc

foc = fraction of organic carbon

Kd = distribution coefficient

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Chemical Reactions
 Chemical equilibrium for reversible
reaction (fast) should be considered
 Chemical kinetics for slow processes
should be considered
 The speed of reactions are measured with
respect to groundwater flow velocity

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Radioactive Decay

 C  ln 2
   C
 t  decay 

l = half-life of the radionuclide

 The above term is used in place of the
reaction term in the original equation

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Biodegradtion
 Hydrocarbons form a substrate for
microbial growth which leads to the
formation of biofilm on the solid surface
 The microbes may require oxygen if it is
an aerobic biodegradation

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Colloidal transport
 Colloids are particles < 1 mm in size
 Dissolved organic macromolecules
 Tiny droplets of organic liquids
 Minerals
 Contaminants sorbed onto the colloids can
be carried within the porewater
 Immobile ions can be carried by colloids

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Size-exclusion effect
 Macromolecules travel through larger
pores where the GW velocity is much
higher
 The contaminants will travel farther and
faster than the average GW flow

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Summary
 Be familiar with the different solute
transport mechanisms
 Be able to formulate additional terms
describing the process
 Know the simplifying assumptions

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