Philip John Binning

A mass conservative numerical solution for two-phase flow in porous media with application to unsaturated flow

A numerical algorithm for simulation of two-phase flow in porous media is presented. The algorithm is based on a modified Picard linearization of the governing equations of flow, coupled with a lumped finite element approximation in space and dynamic time step control. Numerical results indicate that the algorithm produces solutions that are essentially mass conservative and oscillation free, even in the presence of steep infiltrating fronts. When the algorithm is applied to the case of air and water flow in unsaturated soils, numerical results confirm the conditions under which Richardss equation is valid. Numerical results also demonstrate the potential importance of air phase advection when considering contaminant transport in unsaturated soils. Comparison to several other numerical algorithms shows that the modified Picard approach offers robust, mass conservative solutions to the general equations that describe two-phase flow in porous media.

Characterisation of the hydrology of an estuarine wetland

The intertidal zone of estuarine wetlands is characterised by a transition from a saline marine environment to a freshwater environment with increasing distance from tidal streams. An experimental site has been established in an area of mangrove and salt marsh wetland in the Hunter River estuary, Australia, to characterise and provide data for a model of intertidal zone hydrology. The experimental site is designed to monitor water fluxes at a small scale (36 m). A weather station and groundwater monitoring wells have been installed and hydraulic head and tidal levels are monitored over a 10-week period along a short one-dimensional transect covering the transition between the tidal and freshwater systems. Soil properties have been determined in the laboratory and the field. A two-dimensional finite element model of the site was developed using SEEP/W to analyse saturated and unsaturated pore water movement. Modification of the water retention function to model crab hole macropores was found necessary to reproduce the observed aquifer response. Groundwater response to tidal fluctuations was observed to be almost uniform beyond the intertidal zone, due to the presence of highly permeable subsurface sediments below the less permeable surface sediments. Over the 36 m transect, tidal forcing was found to generate incoming fluxes in the order of 0.22 m 3 /day per metre width of creek bank during dry periods, partially balanced by evaporative fluxes of about 0.13 m 3 /day per metre width. During heavy rainfall periods, rainfall fluxes were about 0.61 m 3 /day per metre width, dominating the water balance. Evapotranspiration rates were greater for the salt marsh dominated intertidal zone than the non-tidal zone. Hypersalinity and salt encrustation observed show that evapotranspiration fluxes are very important during non-rainfall periods and are believed to significantly influence salt concentration both in the surface soil matrix and the underlying aquifer. q 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Adaptive time stepping and error control in a mass conservative numerical solution of the mixed form of Richards equation

Abstract Adaptive time stepping with embedded error control is applied to the mixed form of Richards equation. It is the first mathematically based adaptive scheme applied to this form of Richards equation. The key to the method is the approximation of the local truncation error of the scheme in terms of the pressure head, although, to enforce mass conservation, the principal time approximation is based on the moisture content. The time stepping scheme is closely related to an implicit Thomas–Gladwell approximation and is unconditionally stable and second-order accurate. Numerical trials demonstrate that the new algorithm fully automates stepsize selection and robustly constrains temporal discretisation errors given a user tolerance. The adaptive mechanism is shown to improve the performance of the non-linear solver, providing accurate initial solution estimates for the iterative process. Furthermore, the stepsize variation patterns reflect the adequacy of the spatial discretisation, here accomplished by linear finite elements. When sufficiently dense spatial grids are used, the time step varies smoothly, while excessively coarse grids induce stepsize oscillations.

Increasing urban water self-sufficiency: New era, new challenges

Urban water supplies are traditionally based on limited freshwater resources located outside the cities. However, a range of concepts and techniques to exploit alternative water resources has gained ground as water demands begin to exceed the freshwater available to cities. Based on 113 cases and 15 in-depth case studies, solutions used to increase water self-sufficiency in urban areas are analyzed. The main drivers for increased self-sufficiency were identified to be direct and indirect lack of water, constrained infrastructure, high quality water demands and commercial and institutional pressures. Case studies demonstrate increases in self-sufficiency ratios to as much as 80% with contributions from recycled water, seawater desalination and rainwater collection. The introduction of alternative water resources raises several challenges: energy requirements vary by more than a factor of ten amongst the alternative techniques, wastewater reclamation can lead to the appearance of trace contaminants in drinking water, and changes to the drinking water system can meet tough resistance from the public. Public water-supply managers aim to achieve a high level of reliability and stability. We conclude that despite the challenges, self-sufficiency concepts in combination with conventional water resources are already helping to reach this goal.

A Finite Volume Eulerian‐Lagrangian Localized Adjoint Method for Solution of the Contaminant Transport Equations in Two‐Dimensional Multiphase flow Systems

An Eulerian-Lagrangian localized adjoint method (ELLAM) numerical solution is developed for the multiphase contaminant transport equations in two dimensions. The ELLAM uses finite volume test functions in the space-time domain defined by the characteristics of the hyperbolic part of the governing equation. The use of the characteristics results in an approximation that allows large time steps while still maintaining accurate solutions. This greatly reduces the computational effort required to find solutions to the advection-dispersion equation. Combination of the finite volume test functions with the conservative form of the governing equation results in a local conservation of mass property. For problems with a constant saturation such as that of contaminant transport in the saturated zone this property is highly advantageous as the resulting numerical approximation conserves mass both globally and locally. For problems with a variable saturation the requirement of local conservation of mass is too stringent, particularly around first-type boundaries where oscillations can occur because of errors inherent in the numerical determination of fluid velocities and in the backtracking routine. A combined conservative/nonconservative ELLAM is developed with an ELLAM formulation based on the nonconservative form of the governing equation being applied to subdomains intersecting first-type boundaries and a conservative ELLAM being used for all other subdomains. The combined conservative/nonconservative ELLAM is compared to a Galerkin finite element scheme and is found to have greatly superior performance, requiring far fewer time steps to obtain a solution of equivalent accuracy.

Experimental sorption of fluoride by kaolinite and bentonite

The experimental sorption isotherms of fluoride were compared for several aluminosilicate clays. A competitive Langmuir isotherm incorporating pH dependence in fluoride sorption was used to model the experimental results. Bentonite was determined to be a far superior fluoride sorbent than kaolinite quantitatively, although results suggest that fluoride sorption by bentonite may not be achieved through the same sorption mechanism as for kaolinite. Factors found to influence fluoride sorption include solution pH, clay surface area, aluminium content and the presence of certain exchangeable cations capable of forming fluoride precipitates. Characterisation of fluoride sorption behaviour by clay mixtures was achieved through weighted averaging of the sorption behaviour for the individual clays of the mixture.

Practical implementation of the fractional flow approach to multi-phase flow simulation

Fractional flow formulations of the multi-phase flow equations exhibit several attractive attributes for numerical simulations. The governing equations are a saturation equation having an advection diffusion form, for which characteristic methods are suited, and a global pressure equation whose form is elliptic. The fractional flow approach to the governing equations is compared with other approaches and the implication of equation form for numerical methods discussed. The fractional flow equations are solved with a modified method of characteristics for the saturation equation and a finite element method for the pressure equation. An iterative algorithm for determination of the general boundary conditions is implemented. Comparisons are made with a numerical method based on the twopressure formulation of the governing equations. While the fractional flow approach is attractive for model problems, the performance of numerical methods based on these equations is relatively poor when the method is applied to general boundary conditions. We expect similar difficulties with the fractional flow approach for more general problems involving heterogenous material properties and multiple spatial dimensions. q 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Environmental impacts of remediation of a trichloroethene-contaminated site: life cycle assessment of remediation alternatives.

The environmental impacts of remediation of a chloroethene-contaminated site were evaluated using life cycle assessment (LCA). The compared remediation options are (i) in situ bioremediation by enhanced reductive dechlorination (ERD), (ii) in situ thermal desorption (ISTD), and (iii) excavation of the contaminated soil followed by off-site treatment and disposal. The results showed that choosing the ERD option will reduce the life-cycle impacts of remediation remarkably compared to choosing either ISTD or excavation, which are more energy-demanding. In addition to the secondary impacts of remediation, this study includes assessment of local toxic impacts (the primary impact) related to the on-site contaminant leaching to groundwater and subsequent human exposure via drinking water. The primary human toxic impacts were high for ERD due to the formation and leaching of chlorinated degradation products, especially vinyl chloride during remediation. However, the secondary human toxic impacts of ISTD and excavation are likely to be even higher, particularly due to upstream impacts from steel production. The newly launched model, USEtox, was applied for characterization of primary and secondary toxic impacts and combined with a site-dependent fate model of the leaching of chlorinated ethenes from the fractured clay till site.

A sequential zero valent iron and aerobic biodegradation treatment system for nitrobenzene

The remediation of nitroaromatic contaminated groundwater is sometimes difficult because nitroaromatic compounds are resistant to biodegradation and, when they do transform, the degradation of the products may also be incomplete. A simple nitroaromatic compound, nitrobenzene, was chosen to assess the feasibility of an in situ multi-zone treatment system at the laboratory scale. The proposed treatment system consists of a zero valent granular iron zone to reduce nitrobenzene to aniline, followed by a passive oxygen release zone for the aerobic biodegradation of the aniline daughter product using pristine aquifer material from Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Borden, Ontario, as an initial microbial source. In laboratory batch experiments, nitrobenzene was found to reduce quickly in the presence of granular iron forming aniline, which was not further degraded but remained partially sorbed onto the granular iron surface. Aniline was found to be readily biodegraded with little metabolic lag under aerobic conditions using the pristine aquifer material. A sequential column experiment, containing a granular iron reducing zone and an aerobic biodegradation zone, successively degraded nitrobenzene and then aniline to below detection limits (0.5 microM) without any noticeable reduction in hydraulic conductivity from biofouling, or through the formation of precipitates.

Review of reactive kinetic models describing reductive dechlorination of chlorinated ethenes in soil and groundwater.

Reductive dechlorination is a major degradation pathway of chlorinated ethenes in anaerobic subsurface environments, and reactive kinetic models describing the degradation process are needed in fate and transport models of these contaminants. However, reductive dechlorination is a complex biological process, where many microbial populations including dechlorinating, fermentative, methanogenic, iron and sulfate reducing, interact. In this article the modeling approaches and the experimental data needed to calibrate them are reviewed, classified, and discussed. Model approaches considered include first order kinetics, Monod kinetics to describe sequential reductive dechlorination and bacterial growth, and metabolic models which simulate fermentation and redox processes interacting with reductive dechlorination processes. The review shows that the estimated kinetic parameters reported vary over a wide range, and that experimental microbial data are scarce. Very few studies have been performed evaluating the influence of sulfate and iron reduction, and contradictory conclusions on the interaction of redox processes with reductive dechlorination have been reported. The modeling approaches for metabolic reductive dechlorination employing different descriptions of the interaction between redox and dechlorination processes and competition for hydrogen are classified. The current concepts lead to different results, suggesting a need for further investigations on the interactions between the microbial communities performing dechlorination and redox processes, including the establishment of biomarkers quantifying dechlorination, and on geochemical characterization. Finally, the relevance of laboratory data and the development of practical modeling tools for field applications are discussed. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2013; 110: 1–23.