Numerical and experimental study on solute transport through physical aquifer model

Abstract

Abstract Environmental concerns have drawn much research interest in solute transport through porous media. Thus, contaminants of groundwater permeate through pores in the ground, and adsorption attenuates the pollution concentration as the pollutants adhere to the solid surface. Mathematical models based on certain simplifying assumptions have been used to predict solute transport. The transport of solutes in porous media is governed by a partial differential equation known as the advection-dispersion equation. In this study, a two-dimensional numerical model has been developed for solute transport through porous media. Results of spatial moments have been predicted and analysed in the presence of both constant and time-dependent dispersion coefficients. Afterward, a numerical model is used to simulate experimentally observed breakthrough curves for both conservative and non-conservative solutes. Thus, transport parameters are estimated through numerical simulation of observed breakthrough curves. Finally, this model gives the best simulation of observed breakthrough curves, and it can also be used in the field scale.