Comments on “Analytical modelling of fringe and core biodegradation in groundwater plumes.” by Gutierrez-Neri et al. in J. Contam. Hydrol. 107: 1–9

In this comment, we revisit equations concerning the analytical solutions presented by Gutierrez-Neri and co-workers for reactive transport for a pollutant undergoing core and fringe degradations. We state that a correction needs to be made in Eq. (9) of the work of Gutierrez- Neri et al. in order that the equation follows closely previous work published by J. Bear (in 1-D) and P.A. Domenico (in 3-D). Furthermore we derive alternative solutions for Eqs. (13)–(16) which separate more clearly the first-order reaction and the instantaneous reaction. It is shown that the corrected solution agrees better with the results from the numerical model than the previous solution. An improvement is also made by giving a solution which avoids negative concentrations. Furthermore, the corresponding solution for the electron acceptor reacting with the pollutant is given.