The thesis deals with the numerical modeling of nonreactive and nonlinearly sorbing solutes in groundwater and analysis of the effect of heterogeneity resulting from spatial variation of physical and chemical parameters on the transport of solutes. For this purpose, a hy­brid flux corrected transport (FCT) and central difference method based on operator-split approach is developed for advection-dispersion solute transport equation. The advective transport is solved using the FCT technique, while the dispersive transport is solved using a conventional, fully implicit, finite difference scheme. Three FCT methods are developed and extension to multidimensional cases are discussed. The FCT models developed are anlaysed using test problems possessing analyt­ical solutions for one and two dimensional cases, while analysing advection and dispersion dominated transport situations. Different initial and boundary conditions, which mimic the laboratory and field situations are analysed in order to study numerical dispersion, peak cliping and grid orientation. The developed models are tested to study their relative merits and weaknesses for various grid Peclet and Courant numbers. It is observed from the one dimensional results that all the FCT models perform well for continuous solute sources under varying degrees of Courant number restriction. For sharp solute pulses FCT1 and FCT3 methods fail to simulate the fronts for advection dominated situations even for mod­erate Courant numbers. All the FCT models can be extended to multidimensions using a dimensional-split approach while FCT3 can be made fully multidimensional. It is observed that a dimensional-split approach allows use of higher Courant numbers while tracking the fronts accurately for the cases studied. The capability of the FCT2 model is demonstrated in handling situations where the flow is not aligned along the grid direction. It is observed that FCT2 method is devoid of grid orientation error, which is a common problem for many numerical methods based on Cartesian co-ordinate system. The hybrid FCT2 numerical model which is observed to perform better among the three FCT models is extended to model transport of sorbing solutes. The present study analyses the case of nonlinear sorption with a view to extend the model for any reactive transport situation wherein the chemical reactions are nonlinear in nature. A two step approach is adopted in the present study for coupling the partial differential equation gov­erning the transport and the nonlinear algebraic equation governing the equilibrium sorp­tion. The suitability of explicit-implicit (EI - form) formulation for obtaining accurate solution coupling the transport equation with the nonlinear algebraic equation solved using a Newton-Raphson method is demonstrated. The performance of the numerical model is tested for a range of Peclet numbers for modelling self-sharpening and self-smearing con­centration profiles resulting from nonlinear sorption. It is observed that FCT2 model based on this formulation simulates the fronts quite accurately for both advection and dispersion dominated situations. The delay in the solute mobility and additional dispersion are anal­ysed varying the statistical parameters characterising the heterogeneity namely, correlation scale and variance during the transport of solutes and comparisons are drawn with invariant, cases. The impact of dispersion during the heterogeneous transport is discussed.

Soil and groundwater pollution has become a global issue since the advent of industrialization and mechanized agriculture. Some contaminants such as PAHs may persist in the subsurface for decades and centuries. In a bid to address these issues, protection of groundwater must be based on the quantification of potential threats to pollution at the subsurface which is often inaccessible. Risk assessment of groundwater pollution may however be strongly supported by applying process-based simulation models, which turn out to be particularly helpful with regard to long-term predictions, which cannot be undertaken by experiments. Such reliable predictions, however, can only be achieved if the used modeling tool is known to be applicable. The aim of this work was threefold. First, a source strength function was developed to describe the leaching behavior of point source organic contaminants and thereby acting as a time-dependent upper boundary condition for transport models. For general application of these functions dimensionless numbers known as Damköhler numbers were used to characterize the reaction of the pollutants with the solid matrix. Two functions were derived and have been incorporated into an Excel worksheet to act as a practical aid in the quantification of leaching behavior of organic contaminant in seepage water prognoses. Second, the process based model tool SMART, which is well validated for laboratory scale data, was applied to lysimeter scale data from two research centres, FZJ (Jülich) and GSF (München) for long term predictions. Results from pure forward model runs show a fairly good correlation with the measured data. Finally, the derived source term functions in combination with the SMART model were used to assess groundwater vulnerability beneath a typical landfill at Kwabenya in Ghana. The predicted breakthrough time after leaking from the landfill was more than 200 years considering the operational time of the facility (30 years). Considering contaminant degradation, the landfill would therefore not cause groundwater pollution under the simulated scenarios and the SMART model can be used to establish waste acceptance criteria for organic contaminants in the landfill at Kwabenya / Seit dem Beginn der Industrialisierung und der mechanisierten Landwirtschaft wurde die Boden- und Grundwasserverschmutzung zu einem weltweiten Problem. Einige Schadstoffe wie z. B. PAK können für Jahrzehnte oder Jahrhunderte im Untergrund bestehen. Um diese Probleme behandeln zu können, muss der Schutz des Grundwassers basierend auf der Quantifizierung potentieller Gefährdungen des zumeist unzugänglichen Untergrundes erfolgen. Risikoabschätzungen von Grundwasserverschmutzungen können jedoch durch die Anwendung prozess-basierter Simulationsmodelle erheblich unterstützt werden, die sich besonders im Hinblick auf Langzeitvorhersagen als hilfreich erweisen und nicht experimentell ermittelbar sind. Derart zuverlässige Vorhersagen können jedoch nur erhalten werden, wenn das verwendete Modellierwerkzeug als anwendbar bekannt ist. Das Ziel dieser Arbeit bestand aus drei Teilen. Erstens wurde eine Quellstärke-funktion entwickelt, die das Ausbreitungsverhalten organischer Schadstoffe aus einer Punktquelle beschreibt und dadurch als zeitabhängige obere Randbedingung bei Transportmodellen dienen kann. Im Hinblick auf die allgemeine Anwendbarkeit dieser Funktion werden als Damköhler-Zahlen bekannte, dimensionslose Zahlen verwendet, um die Reaktion von Schadstoffen mit Feststoffen zu charakterisieren. Zwei Funktionen wurden abgeleitet und in ein Excel-Arbeitsblatt eingefügt, das ein praktisches Hilfsmittel bei der Quantifizierung des Freisetzungsverhaltens organischer Schadstoffe im Rahmen der Sickerwasserprognose darstellt. Der zweite Teil dieser Arbeit beinhaltet die Anwendung des prozessbasierten und mittels Laborexperimenten validierten Modellwerkzeugs SMART für Langzeitprognosen auf der Lysimeterskala anhand von Daten zweier Forschungszentren, FZJ (Jülich) und GSF (München). Ergebnisse reiner Vorwärtsmodellierungsläufe zeigten gute Übereinstimmungen mit den gemessenen Daten. Im dritten Teil wurden die erhaltenen Quellstärkefunktionen in Kombination mit dem SMART-Modell eingesetzt, um das Grundwassergefährdungspotential unter einer typischen Deponie in Kwabenya, Ghana, einzuschätzen. Die vorhergesagten Durchbruchszeiten nach einer Leckage in der Deponie betragen über 200 Jahre bei einer Betriebszeit von 30 Jahren. Unter Berücksichtigung des Schadstoffabbaus verursacht die Deponie somit keine Grundwasserverunreinigung im Rahmen der simulierten Szenarien und das SMART-Modell kann verwendet werden, um Schadstoffgrenzwerte für organische Schadstoffe in der Deponie in Kwabenya festzulegen.

Reactive transport modelling has wide applications in geosciences. In the field of hydrogeology, it has been utilised to simulate the biogeochemical processes that disperse and degrade contaminants in the aquifer. For geotechnical applications, such as geological CO2 sequestration, the reaction of CO2 with the ambient saline aquifer determines the final success of storage. In a radioactive waste repository, scientists rely on reactive transport models to predict the mobilisation of hazardous radionuclides within space and time. In this work, the multi-component mass transport code OpenGeoSys, was coupled with two geochemical solvers, the Gibbs Energy Minimization Selektor (GEM) and the Biogeochemical Reaction Network Simulator (BRNS). Both coupled codes were verified against analytical solutions and simulation results from other numerical models. Moreover, the coupling interface was developed for parallel simulation. Test runs showed that the speed-up of reaction part had a very good linearity with number of nodes in the mesh. However, for three dimensional problems with complex geochemical reactions, the model performance was dominated by solving transport equations of mobile chemical components. OpenGeoSys-BRNS was applied to a two dimensional groundwater remediation problem. Its calculated concentration profiles fitted very well with analytical solutions and numerical results from TBC. The model revealed that natural attenuation of groundwater contaminants is mainly controlled by the mixing of carbon source and electron donor. OpenGeoSys-GEM was employed to investigate the retardation mechanism of radionuclides in the near field of a nuclear waste repository. Radium profiles in an idealised bentonite column was modelled with varying clay/water ratios. When clay content is limited, Ba-Sr-Ra sulfate solid solutions have a very strong retardation effect on the aqueous radium. Nevertheless, when clay mineral is abundant, cation exchange sites also attract Sr and Ba, thus dominates the transport of Ra.

No description available.

In der vorliegenden Arbeit wurde die Methode der magnetischen Kernspinresonanz (NMR) eingesetzt, um beim Schadstoffabbau stattfindende Prozesse und geochemische Reaktionen zerstörungs- und beprobungsfrei zu untersuchen. Dies ist möglich, da die gelösten Elektronenakzeptoren Sauerstoff und Eisen paramagnetisch sind und somit einen Ein uss auf die NMRRelaxationszeiten ausüben. Der lineare Zusammenhang zwischen der gelösten Sauerstoff- beziehungsweise Eisen-Konzentration und den NMR-Relaxationsraten 1/T1 und 1/T2 wurde quantifiziert. Weiterhin wurde der bereits bekannte Einfluss der Matrixoberflächen von porösen Medien auf die Relaxation von Wasser nachgewiesen. Die paramagnetischen Zentren auf Sandoberflächen führen ebenfalls zu einer Verkürzung der Relaxationszeiten. Es wurde gezeigt, dass die kleinsten Korngrößen der verwendeten Sande den größten Einfluss auf die Oberflächenrelaxation haben. Wird die Oberflächenrelaxation berücksichtigt, ist auch in porösen Medien die ermittelte lineare Abhängigkeit der Relaxationszeiten von der Ionenkonzentration anwendbar, um den Gehalt an gelösten paramagnetischen Ionen aus Relaxationsmessungen zu ermitteln. Beispielhaft wurde der Anstieg der Eisen(III)-Konzentration in der Porenlösung von natürlichen Sanden infolge der Auflösung eisenhaltiger Mineralien von den Oberflächen zeitlich und räumlich detailliert betrachtet. Eine durchgeführte Modellierung zeigte, dass das Reaktionssystem zu Beginn der Reaktion von der Diffusion dominiert wird, am Ende dann die Reaktionsgeschwindigkeit der bestimmende Parameter ist. Die beim biologischen Schadstoffabbau auftretenden Redoxprozesse des Eisens wurden durch rein chemische Reaktionen unter Verwendung von Oxidations- und Reduktionsmitteln simuliert. Die zeitlich und räumlich detaillierte Beobachtung des Anstiegs beziehungsweise des Abfalls der gelösten Eisen(III)-Konzentration in der (Poren-)Lösung war mit NMR-Relaxometrie trotz der Schnelligkeit der Reaktionen möglich. Mit Hilfe der anschliessenden Modellierung wurde der wichtige Einfluss des pH-Wertes auf den genauen Ablauf der Reaktionen deutlich gemacht. Nur in sehr sauren pH-Bereichen (pH < 3) liegen die Eisen(III)-Ionen in Lösung vor. Weiterhin wurde der Einfluss der Mikroorganismen selbst auf die NMR-Relaxations- und Diffusionsmessungen untersucht. Im Rahmen dieser Arbeit wurde an Medien mit Lactobacillus und Penicillium eine Verschiebungen in den Relaxationszeitverteilungen hin zu kleineren Relaxationszeiten gemessen. Dies basiert auf der bereits bekannten Verringerung der Mobilität der Spins innerhalb der Biomasse. Für Bakterien von Geobacter metallireducens konnte erstmals der Verbrauch von Eisen(III)-Ionen durch Reduktion während des Wachstum anhand der ansteigenden T2-Relaxationszeit gezeigt werden.

La plupart des données existantes de diffusion d'eau et de solutés sont obtenues pour des roches argileuses extrêmement complexes ou des échantillons en apparence plus simples préparés à base d'argiles gonflantes sodiques de type smectite. Ces dernières pouvant présenter des organisations très variables et encore mal comprises (phase gel-floc-suspension stable) en conditions saturées, il reste très difficile de contraindre les modèles à double milieu (eau porale ou interfoliaire) parfois avancés pour interpréter des expériences de diffusion. Un système modèle d'argiles gonflantes reflétant réellement un double milieu a pu être obtenu à partir de trois fractions granulométriques d'une vermiculite-Na. Celles-ci ne présentent pas de phase gel en conditions saturées mais des particules bien définies dont la morphologie et l'organisation ont pu être caractérisées. Un dispositif de diffusion a été développé afin d'étudier la diffusion de HDO et Br- pour ces différentes fractions en fonction de la porosité. L'avantage majeur de ce dispositif est de pouvoir préparer des échantillons par sédimentation analysables en tomographie de rayons-X afin de valider leur homogénéité organisationnelle ; hypothèse considérée dans les modélisations. Les résultats obtenus démontrent que cette nouvelle voie de préparation conduit à des échantillons plus homogènes par rapport aux méthodes classiques. Les premières perspectives quant à l'utilisation de ces doubles milieux modèles se dégagent à travers les premiers résultats de diffusion obtenus puisque leurs caractéristiques géométriques parfaitement contrôlées peuvent permettre de pondérer l'impact des différents processus de transport potentiels / Most of existing data on diffusion of water and solutes were obtained either on extremely complex clayey rocks or on seemingly more simple samples prepared from sodium-saturated swelling clay minerals, namely smectites. Because these latter can exhibit in water-saturated conditions various organizations not yet fully understood (gel phase-floc-stable suspension), it is still difficult to constrain dual-porosity media modeling (pore or interlayer water) sometimes considered for interpreting results from diffusion experiments. A model system for swelling clay minerals, mimicking a true dual-porosity medium, was obtained by using three size fractions of a Na-vermiculite. These fractions do not exhibit gel-like behavior in water-saturated conditions but rather well defined particles, whose morphology and organization have been characterized. An experimental set-up was designed for the investigation of HDO and Br- diffusion in these size-fractions as a function of porosity. The main advantage of this set up is that it allows assessing for the organizational homogeneity of a sample prepared by sedimentation process through X-ray tomography measurements, an assumption considered for diffusion modeling. The obtained results showed that this new method for sample preparation leads to more homogeneous samples as compared to classical procedures. The first perspectives concerning the use of these dual-porosity model systems are drawn from the first diffusion results obtained, as the well-controlled geometrical characteristics of these model systems successfully help in balancing the contribution of the different potential transport processes.

La gestion de sols ou sédiments contaminés par des métaux nécessite de pouvoir prédire la migration de ces métaux, dont la mobilité dépend des propriétés de transport du milieu ainsi que de la réactivité chimique de celui-ci (principalement réactions sorption/désorption). Pour étudier l'adsorption des cations métalliques (majeurs et traces) en condition dynamique, des expériences de transport en colonne ont été réalisées avec un sol pauvre en minéraux carbonatés et en matière organique. Considérant que la réactivité de ce sol était due essentiellement à la phase argileuse smectitique, un modèle d'adsorption basé sur les propriétés de rétention de la montmorillonite du Wyoming, utilisant la théorie des échangeurs d'ions multi-sites a été intégré à un code de transport 1D. Les prédictions calculées par ce modèle ont ensuite été comparées aux courbes de percées mesurées dans cette étude et reportées de la littérature. L'étude sur le transport réactif des cations majeurs a mis en évidence le rôle significatif des protons (et ce même à des pH proche de la neutralité), et a permis de valider le modèle pour le transport compétitif des cations majeurs (Na et Ca). Cependant, l'étude de la rétention de Zn(II) a mis en évidence une incohérence entre les résultats issus des expériences batch et ceux obtenus avec les expériences colonne, que l'on pourrait attribuer à la contribution d'une autre phase adsorbante (illite). Néanmoins, le modèle d'adsorption proposé a permis de reproduire avec une bonne satisfaction des données expérimentales de rétention de Zn(II) proposées dans la littérature et obtenues avec des expériences colonne. / Management of soils or sediments contaminated by metals requires to predict the migration of metallic cations, whose mobility depends both on the transport properties of the medium and chemical reactivity of the system (principally sorption/desorption reactions). To study the sorption of metallic cations (major and trace) in dynamic condition, transport experiments using columns have been carried out with a soil poor in carbonated minerals and organic matter. Considering that the reactivity of this soil was mainly due to swelling clay minerals, a sorption model based on the sorption properties of the Wyoming montmorillonite and built according to a multi-site ion exchanger theory has been integrated into a 1D transport code. The predictions given by this model were then compared with the breakthrough curves measured in this study and those reported in the literature. The study of the reactive transport of major cations highlighted the significant role of protons (even at near neutral pH), and validated the model for major cations (Na and Ca). However, the study concerning Zn (II) showed a discrepancy between the results obtained from batch experiments and those issued from column experiments, which could be attributed to the contribution of another sorbent phase (illite). Finally, the proposed sorption model allowed reproducing with a good confidence experimental data reported from literature for sorption of Zn (II) in dynamic conditions.

The transport of contaminants in groundwater system is strongly influenced by various aquifer heterogeneity factors such as spatial aquifer heterogeneity of hydraulic conductivity and reactive substances distribution. The contaminants transport can be simulated by using numerical reactive transport models, and their fate can be possibly even predicted. Furthermore, reactive transport modeling is an essential tool to get a profound understanding of hydrological-geochemical complex processes and to make plausible predictions of assessment. The goal of this work is to improve our understanding of the groundwater contaminants fate and transport processes in heterogeneous aquifer systems, with a focus on nitrate problems. A large body of knowledge of the fate and transport of nitrogen species has been achieved by previous works, however, most previous models typically neglect the interrelation of physical and chemical aquifer heterogeneities on the contaminant fate and redox transformation, which is required for predicting the movement and behavior of nitrate and quantifying the impact of uncertainty of numerical groundwater simulation, and which motivates this study. The main research questions which are answered in this work are how aquifer heterogeneity influences on the nitrate fate and transport and then, what is the most influential aquifer heterogeneity factor must be considered. Among the various type of aquifer heterogeneity, physical and chemical aquifer heterogeneities are considered. The first part of the work describes groundwater flow system and hydrochemical characteristics of the study area (Hessian Ried, Germany). Especially, data analyses are performed with the hydrochemical data to identify the major driving force for nitrate reduction in the study area. The second part of the work introduces a kinetic model describing nitrate removal by using numerical simulation. The resulting model reproduces nitrate reduction processes and captures the sequence of redox reactions. The third and fourth parts show the influence of physical and chemical aquifer heterogeneity with varying variance, correlation length scale, and anisotropy ratio. Heterogeneous aquifer systems are realized by using stochastic approach. Results, in short, show that the most influential aquifer heterogeneity factors could change over time. With abundant requisite electron donors, physical aquifer heterogeneity significantly influences the nitrate reduction while chemical aquifer heterogeneity plays a minor role. Increasing the spatial variability of the hydraulic conductivity increases the nitrate removal efficiency of the system in addition. If these conditions are reversed, nitrate removal efficiency varies by the spatial heterogeneity of the available initial electron donor. The results indicate that an appropriate characterization of the physical and chemical properties can be of significant importance to predict redox contamination transport and design long-term remediation strategies and risk assessment.

Une solution pour stabiliser les résidus d’extraction minière de latérites nickélifères est de les végétaliser avec des plantes natives de ces sols ultramafiques. L’objectif de cette thèse était d’étudier la réactivité géochimique des stériles miniers nickélifères des massifs de Niquelândia et Barro Alto (Goiás) dans l’optique de mettre en œuvre ce procédé de revégétalisation.La minéralogie et la réactivité des phases porteuses d’ETM dans les stériles ont été déterminées. L’influence du transport et de la composition de la solution au contact du stérile sur la mobilisation du Ni ont ensuite été étudiées par des expériences en colonne saturée et insaturée. Enfin, la comparaison de la composition de la solution circulant dans les sols naturels ultramafiques avec celle circulant dans des parcelles expérimentales de minerais types a permis d’obtenir une première évaluation de l’adaptabilité des plantes aux stériles.Deux phases majeures sont présentes dans les stériles : un matériau garniéritique, principalement composé de smectites ferrifères riches en Ni échangeable (1230 mg kg-1) ; et un matériau limonitique, principalement composé de goethite, pauvre en nickel mobile, mais riche en Cr(VI) échangeable (980 mg kg-1) complexé en sphère interne à la surface des goethites. Goethite et smectite ont servi de modèles pour affiner la détermination des mécanismes impliqués dans la mobilisation du nickel (modélisation PHREEQC). Outre les réactions de complexation de sphère externe et interne cette étude montre que la dissolution des phases minérales (phyllosilicates, oxydes de fer et de manganèse) et l’adsorption des complexes métal-(citrate/EDTA) jouent un rôle important dans la composition de la solution dans les stériles / A way to ensure physical and chemical stability of mining spoils heaps from nickeliferous laterites is to revegetate them using the native vegetation of the ultramafic soils. The aim of this work was to study the geochemical reactivity of nickeliferous mining spoils of Niquelândia and Barro Alto complexes (Goiás) for the further application of such a revegetation process. Mineralogy and reactivity of TME bearing phases in the spoils were determined. The influence of transport and percolating solution composition on the Ni mobilisation were then studied using saturated and unsaturated column experiments. Finally, the comparison of the composition of solution circulating in natural ultramafic soils with those circulating in experimental plots composed of typical mining ores allowed us to have a first evaluation of the adaptability of natural vegetation to spoils. Two main phases are present in the spoils: a garnieritic spoil, mainly composed of ferruginous smectites enriched in exchangeable Ni (1230 mg kg-1); and a limonitic spoil, mainly composed of goethite with little mobile Ni but very high exchangeable Cr(VI) contents (980 mg kg-1) located as outer sphere complexes at the goethite surface. Synthetic goethite and purified smectite served as model phases to refine the characterisation of main reactive mechanisms implied in Ni mobilisation (PHREEQC modelling). Besides outer (smectite, garnierite) and inner (goethite, limonite) sphere complexation reactions, we showed that the dissolution of mineral phases (phylosilicates, goethite and manganese oxides) and the adsorption of metal-citrate or metal-EDTA complexes do have an important role in the composition of the solution circulating in the spoils

La modélisation du transport réactif est utilisée dans de nombreuses applications énergétiques et environnementales liées aux écoulements souterrains. La modélisation de tels problèmes conduit à un système hautement non linéaire d'EDP couplées à des équations différentielles ordinaires ou algébriques. Deux types d'approches pour la résolution numérique des problèmes de transport réactif sont largement utilisés dans la littérature. L'une est l'approche de séparation des opérateurs qui consiste à découpler les problèmes d'écoulement et de transport réactif. Ces derniers sont résolus séquentiellement à chaque pas de temps. L'autre stratégie est basée sur une approche entièrement couplée dans laquelle le système entier est résolu simultanément. Le but de la thèse de doctorat est le développement d'un schéma implicite en volumes finis pour la modélisation numérique d'écoulements multicomposants monophasiques et diphasiques avec transport réactif en milieu poreux.Deux nouveaux modules de transport réactif seront implémentés dans DuMuX, un simulateur libre pour les problèmes d'écoulements et de transport dans les milieuw poreux. Des simulations numériques bi et tridimensionnels comprenant des benchmarks et du calcul haute performance, seront effectuées pour valider les modules. / Reactive transport modeling is used in many energy and environmental applications related to subsurface flows. Modeling such problems leads to a highly nonlinear system of PDEs coupled with algebraic or ODEs. Two types of approaches for the numerical solving of reactive transport problems are widely used in the literature. One is the operator-splitting approach which consists in splitting the flow and reactive transport problems. These latter are solved sequentially at each time step. The other strategy is based on the fully coupled approach in which the entire system is solved simultaneously. The goal of the PhD thesis is the development of a fully coupled fully implicit finite volume scheme for numerical modeling of single and two-phase multicomponent flows with reactive transport in porous media. New reactive transport modules will be implemented in DuMuX, a free and open-source simulator for flow and transport processes in porous media. Numerical simulations for 2D and 3D including benchmark tests and high performance computing will be performed to validate the modules.