Reactive transport in the dynamic capillary fringe

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Transport of volatile organic contaminants (VOC) and soil gases (e.g. O2, CO2) across the capillary fringe (CF) depends on the morphology and the dynamics of the groundwater table. It is widely hypothesized that the CF is a highly bioactive region, where biodegradation of organic compounds or pollutants takes place. Overall biodegradation rates depend for example on the supply of electron acceptors such as oxygen, which is limited by diffusion and dispersion in the CF. The work in the first phase of the research unit focused on tracer techniques (dye tracers) and mass transfer of oxygen by transverse hydrodynamic dispersion as well as gas partitioning between the aqueous and the gaseous phase due to air entrapment. Overall objectives were the quantification of the basic mass transfer parameters in the CF and the investigation of the impact of transient conditions and heterogeneities. In the second period, the investigations will be extended to abiotic, rapid model reactions (e.g. consumption of oxygen by reducing species in groundwater). Goals of this proposal are• to quantify the basic mass transfer parameters in the CF for reactive systems under transient conditions and• to investigate the impact of coarse-grained inclusions (heterogeneities) in the porous medium packing on overall mass transfer and reaction rates.Flow-through experiments and numerical modeling (in collaboration with SP 2, Bastian/Ippisch) will be carried out in order to study example reactions in homogeneous and complex heterogeneous porous media by high-resolution spatial and temporal analysis.