Cribbin, LB,Winstanley, HF,Mitchell, SL,Fowler, AC,Sander, GC

2014

December

Journal Of Contaminant Hydrology

Reaction front formation in contaminant plumes

Published

()

Bioremediation Reactive transport Terminal electron acceptors Redox zonation Reaction front Mathematical model REACTION-DIFFUSION PROCESS SOLUTE TRANSPORT MODEL IN-SITU BIOREMEDIATION TRAVELING-WAVES POROUS-MEDIA REDOX ZONES OXIDATION AQUIFERS PRECIPITATION PERFORMANCE

171

12

21

The formation of successive fronts in contaminated groundwater plumes by subsoil bacterial action is a commonly accepted feature of their propagation, but it is not obviously clear from a mathematical standpoint quite how such fronts are formed or propagate. In this paper we show that these can be explained by combining classical reaction-diffusion theory involving just two reactants (oxidant and reductant), and a secondary reaction in which a reactant on one side of such a front is (re-)formed on the other side of the front via diffusion of its product across the front. We give approximate asymptotic solutions for the reactant profiles, and the propagation rate of the front. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

10.1016/j.jconhyd.2014.10.006