Two-dimensional pollutant migration in soils of finite depth

Abstract

A technique for analyzing two-dimensional migration of contaminant from a landfill into a homogeneous clayey layer is described. The analysis takes acount of the fact that the concentration of contaminant in the landfill will decrease as contaminant is transported into the soil. The analysis also allows for advective–dispersive transport within a permeable stratum (aquifer), which underlies the homogeneous layer. Consideration is given to chemical retardation arising from sorption/desorption of contaminant in the clayey layer. Some of the more important effects arising from the use of a 2-D analysis are illustrated by means of a limited parametric study. It is shown that the diffusion of contaminant from the aquifer into the clayey layer will substantially reduce the concentrations of contaminant in the groundwater away from the landfill. It is also shown that there is a critical velocity in the aquifer at which the maximum concentration at a point occurs. At greater or lesser velocities, significantly smaller concentrations may result. Thus design for limiting velocities is not necessarily conservative. Finally, the results of the 2-D analysis are compared with those from a 1-D analysis and the applicability of 1-D solutions is discussed. Key words: contaminant migration, analysis, soil, diffusion, advection, pollutant.