Schirmer, Mario

2001, Schirmer, Mario, Durrant, Graham C, Molson, John W, Frind, Emil O

The rate of biodegradation in contaminated aquifers depends to a large extent on dispersive mixing processes that are now generally accepted to result from spatial variations in the velocity field. It has been shown, however, that transient flow fields can also contribute to dispersive mixing. The influence of transient flow on biodegrading contaminants is particularly important since it can enhance mixing with electron acceptors, further promoting the reactive process. Using numerical simulations, the effect of transient flow on the behavior of a biodegradable contaminant is evaluated here both with respect to the development of apparently large horizontal transverse dispersion and also,vith respect to enhanced mixing between the substrate (electron donor) and electron acceptor. The numerical model BIO3D, which solves for advective-dispersive transport coupled with Monod-type biodegradation of substrates in the presence of an electron acceptor, was used for the simulations. The model was applied in a two-dimensional plan view mode considering a single substrate. Transient flow fields were found to yield larger apparent transverse dispersion because the longitudinal dispersivity also acts transverse to the mean flow direction. In the reactive case, the transient now field increases substrate-oxygen mixing, which in turn enhances the overall rate of biodegradation. The results suggest that in the case of moderate changes of flow directions, a steady-state flow field can be justified, thereby avoiding the higher computational costs of a fully transient simulation. The use of a higher transverse horizontal dispersivity in a steady flow field can, under these conditions, adequately forecast plume development.

2000, Schirmer, Mario, Molson, John W, Frind, Emil O, Barker, James F

Biodegradation of organic contaminants in groundwater is a microscale process which is often observed on scales of 100s of metres or larger. Unfortunately, there are no known equivalent parameters for characterizing the biodegradation process at the macroscale as there are, for example, in the case of hydrodynamic dispersion. Zero- and first-order degradation rates estimated at the laboratory scale by model fitting generally overpredict the rate of biodegradation when applied to the field scale because limited electron acceptor availability and microbial growth are not considered. On the other hand, Field-estimated zero- and first-order rates are often not suitable for predicting plume development because they may oversimplify or neglect several key field scale processes. phenomena and characteristics. This study uses the numerical model BIO3D to link the laboratory and field scales by applying laboratory-derived Monod kinetic degradation parameters to simulate a dissolved gasoline field experiment at the Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Borden. All input parameters were derived from independent laboratory and field measurements or taken from the literature a priori to the simulations. The simulated results match the experimental results reasonably well without model calibration. A sensitivity analysis on the most uncertain input parameters showed only a minor influence on the simulation results. Furthermore, it is shown that the flow field, the amount of electron acceptor (oxygen) available, and the Monod kinetic parameters have a significant influence on the simulated results, it is concluded that laboratory-derived Monod kinetic parameters can adequately describe field scale degradation, provided all controlling factors are incorporated in the field scale model. These factors include advective-dispersive transport of multiple contaminants and electron accepters and large-scale spatial heterogeneities. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

1998, Schirmer, Mario, Barker, James F

In 1988 and 1989, a natural gradient tracer test was performed in the shallow aerobic sand aquifer at Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Borden. A mixture of ground water containing dissolved oxygenated gasoline was injected below the water table along with chloride (Cl-) as a conservative tracer. The migration of BTEX, MTBE, and Cl- was monitored in detail for 16 months. The mass of BTEX compounds in the plume diminished significantly with time due to intrinsic aerobic biodegradation, while MTBE showed only a small decrease in mass over the 16-month period. In 1995/96, a comprehensive ground water sampling program was undertaken to define the mass of MTBE still present in the aquifer. Since the plume had migrated into an unmonitored section of the Borden Aquifer, numerical modeling and geostatistical methods were applied to define an optimal sampling grid and to improve the level of confidence in the results. A drive point profiling system was used to obtain ground water samples. Numerical modeling with no consideration of degradation predicted maximum concentrations in excess of 3000 mu g/L field sampling found maximum concentrations of less than 200 mu g/L. A mass balance for the remaining MTBE mass in the aquifer eight years after injection showed that only 3% of the original mass remained. Sorption, volatilization, abiotic degradation, and plant uptake are not considered significant attenuation processes for the field conditions. Therefore, we suggest that biodegradation may have played a major role in the attenuation of MTBE within the Borden Aquifer.