Three-Dimensional Model for Subsurface Transport and Biodegradation

Abstract

This paper describes and demonstrates a numerical model for subsurface solute transport with aerobic and sequential anaerobic biodegradation. The model can depict multiple constituents in a three-dimensional (3D), anisotropic, heterogeneous domain. Hydrocarbon contaminants are simulated as electron donors for microbial growth, and available electron acceptors (EAs) may be utilized simultaneously or in the following sequence: O2, NO3-, Mn(IV), Fe(III), SO42-, and CO2. The model can account for Mn(II), Fe(II), H2S, CH4, and a user-defined nitrogenous compound as products of biodegradation. Biodegradation of each hydrocarbon substrate follows Monod kinetics, modified to include the effects of EA and nutrient availability. Inhibition functions allow any EA to inhibit the utilization of all other EAs that provide less energy to the microbes. Microbial biomass is conceptualized as scattered microcolonies attached to the porous medium. The model assumes that interphase diffusional limitations to microbial growth are negligible and no geometrical parameters are assigned to the colonies. The behavior of the model was demonstrated using simple, hypothetical test cases. Transport of a biodegradable hydrocarbon was compared to a nonbiodegradable tracer in a 3D, hypothetical domain. Anaerobic biodecay significantly reduced predicted contaminant concentrations and travel distance. Biodegradation of the total contaminant mass depended on EA availability and did not follow first-order kinetics.