Physical model for transport of a contaminant through porous media

Abstract

This thesis presents the results of two-dimensional, transient flow/chemical transport experiments. The porous medium consisted of glass beads mixed with resin pellets. The simulated chemical contaminant is a fluorescent dye, Rhodamine WT, which is adsorbed by the resin pellets. The concentration of the dye in solution is measured using a fluorometer. By varying the resin/glass beads weight ratio, porous media of various adsorptive capacities were created. Adsorption is the primary property that was studied. The reported results of these experiments include the densities and permeabilities of the porous media, the location of the two-dimensional phreatic surface, the downstream flowrate and the output concentration under transient conditions. These results are significant and contribute to the understanding of chemical transport and adsorption effects, and provide a methodology for laboratory simulation of pollutant transport in granular porous media.