Title: Modelling contaminant transport for the design of waste containment facilities and remediation of contaminated soil

Authors: J. Sumalatha; P.V. Sivapullaiah; R. Prabhakara

Addresses: Department of Civil Engineering, M.S. Ramaiah Institute of Technology, MSRIT Post, M.S.R Nagar, Bangalore-560054, India ' CMR University, Off Hennur – Bagalur Main Road, Near Kempegowda International Airport, Chagalahatti, Karnataka 562149, India ' Department of Civil Engineering, Jnana Sangama, VTU Main Rd., Visvesvaraya Technological University, Machhe, Belgaum, Karnataka 590018, India

Abstract: Remediation of contaminated sites requires the knowledge of contaminant transport processes and their rates which are modelled considering the advection-dispersion equation (ADE) and requires software assistance to be performed using iterative calculations. This paper presents the utilisation of various software tools to solve the equation. These include analytical method and finite layer technique which are implemented by using MATLAB and POLLUTEv7 software tools respectively. Different schemes of the finite difference method are tested using software tools viz., MATLAB and Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. An excel spreadsheet solution is created for reactive solute using the finite difference method. This paper demonstrates the use of column leaching tests and MATLAB programs for selecting the suitable chemical solution and the quantity required to leach out the contaminants from the contaminated sites. These studies also help in the design of liners for waste containment facilities.

Keywords: column test; dispersion coefficient; distribution coefficient; soil washing; breakthrough curve; elution curve.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEWM.2022.128209

International Journal of Environment and Waste Management, 2022 Vol.30 No.4, pp.357 - 379

Accepted: 12 Jul 2020
Published online: 12 Jan 2023 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article