Experimental and Numerical Investigation of Ammonium Migration Attenuation in Soils with Different Clay Contents
Publication: Journal of Hazardous, Toxic, and Radioactive Waste
Volume 28, Issue 1
Abstract
In recent decades, extensive use of nitrogen fertilizers has drastically increased ammonium contamination in soil and groundwater. Ammonium contamination in soil is governed by the adsorption mechanism, which depends on the different types of soil through which the contaminant migrates. Understanding the adsorption mechanism of ammonium ions and the factors influencing them is critical for predicting and mitigating contamination. This study attempted to thoroughly investigate the effects of soil clay content on adsorption and, ultimately, the retardation of ion movement in porous media. Ammonium ion transport was investigated using soil and batch experiments for single, mixed, and layered soil types with varying clay proportions. The experimental results were validated by numerically simulating ion migration with HYDRUS 2D software (version 2.05.0270). Furthermore, the linear superposition relationship between the distribution coefficient (Kd) and mass of each individual soil layer was investigated and found to be appropriate for calculating an integrated Kd of ions in layered soil. The attenuation of infiltration of ions into the groundwater was found to be greatly dependent on clay content and the orientation of the soil. Hence, this study can be immensely useful in suggesting mitigation measures to control ammonium contamination in groundwater.
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Data Availability Statement
Some or all data, models, or codes that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Hazardous, Toxic, and Radioactive Waste
Volume 28 • Issue 1 • January 2024
Copyright
© 2023 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Mar 20, 2023
Accepted: Aug 17, 2023
Published online: Oct 4, 2023
Published in print: Jan 1, 2024
Discussion open until: Mar 4, 2024
ASCE Technical Topics:
- [Inorganic compounds]
- Adsorption
- Ammonia
- Chemical processes
- Chemicals
- Chemistry
- Clays
- Environmental engineering
- Geomechanics
- Geotechnical engineering
- Groundwater pollution
- Layered soils
- Organic compounds
- Pollution
- Soil analysis
- Soil classification
- Soil mechanics
- Soil pollution
- Soil properties
- Soils (by type)
- Sorption
- Water pollution
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