Microbial effects on flow rates and dissolved organic carbon migration through inactive supply wells: Insights into the mechanisms of biological clogging

IF 5.9 1区地球科学 Q1 ENGINEERING, CIVIL

Journal of Hydrology Pub Date : 2025-05-14 DOI:10.1016/j.jhydrol.2025.133494

Zhang Wen , Xu Li , Qi Zhu , Jianlong Huang , Hamza Jakada

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Inactive supply wells (ISWs) can act as preferential flow paths facilitating the transfer of dissolved nutrients, petroleum pollutants and other undesirable constituents between aquifers, which can degrade groundwater quality, through a process known as cross-contamination. Specifically, dissolved organic carbon (DOC) can migrate into deep aquifers through ISWs, influencing the migration and transformation of various contaminants. DOC also participates in biogeochemical reactions driven by microbial activity, which can foster biological clogging near ISWs, reducing flow rates and hindering the migration of contaminants. However, the role of biological clogging in altering flow rates and DOC migration through ISWs has not been exhaustively investigated. To address this gap, a novel cross-contamination model for DOC was developed, incorporating advection, radial dispersion, multispecies and multiphase reactive transport and biological clogging, with the aim of elucidating the effects of the microbial processes on flow rates and DOC migration. The finite-difference method was employed to solve the model, and discuss the impacts of biological clogging on hydraulic conductivity, flow rates, spatial concentration distribution and breakthrough curves (BTCs). Our results showed that microbial growth near ISWs results in a reduction in porosity (approximately 45 %) and hydraulic conductivity (approximately 64 %) in a confined aquifer. In addition, biological clogging decreases flow rates, while higher concentrations of dissolved oxygen (DO) exacerbate the clogging, further reducing flow rates. Finally, microbial consumption of DOC results in a reduction in its migration range. These biological effects play a crucial role in the protection of groundwater resources, and these findings provide valuable insights for the management of ISWs, especially regarding biological clogging mechanisms and the protection of deep groundwater resources.

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微生物对通过非活性供应井的流量和溶解有机碳迁移的影响：生物堵塞机制的见解

非活动供应井（isw）可以作为优先流动路径，促进溶解营养物质、石油污染物和其他不良成分在含水层之间的转移，从而通过一种称为交叉污染的过程降低地下水质量。具体来说，溶解有机碳（DOC）可以通过isw向深层含水层迁移，影响各种污染物的迁移转化。DOC还参与微生物活动驱动的生物地球化学反应，在isw附近形成生物堵塞，降低流速，阻碍污染物迁移。然而，生物堵塞在改变流速和DOC通过isw迁移中的作用尚未得到详尽的研究。为了解决这一空白，研究人员开发了一种新的DOC交叉污染模型，包括平流、径向分散、多物种和多相反应运输和生物堵塞，旨在阐明微生物过程对流速和DOC迁移的影响。采用有限差分法对模型进行求解，讨论了生物堵塞对导水率、流量、空间浓度分布和突破曲线的影响。我们的研究结果表明，isw附近的微生物生长导致承压含水层孔隙度降低（约45%），导水率降低（约64%）。此外，生物堵塞会降低流速，而较高浓度的溶解氧（DO）会加剧堵塞，进一步降低流速。最后，微生物对DOC的消耗导致其迁移范围缩小。这些生物效应在地下水资源保护中起着至关重要的作用，这些发现为isw的管理，特别是在生物堵塞机制和深层地下水资源保护方面提供了有价值的见解。

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来源期刊

Journal of Hydrology 地学-地球科学综合

CiteScore

11.00

自引率

12.50%

发文量

1309

审稿时长

7.5 months

期刊介绍： The Journal of Hydrology publishes original research papers and comprehensive reviews in all the subfields of the hydrological sciences including water based management and policy issues that impact on economics and society. These comprise, but are not limited to the physical, chemical, biogeochemical, stochastic and systems aspects of surface and groundwater hydrology, hydrometeorology and hydrogeology. Relevant topics incorporating the insights and methodologies of disciplines such as climatology, water resource systems, hydraulics, agrohydrology, geomorphology, soil science, instrumentation and remote sensing, civil and environmental engineering are included. Social science perspectives on hydrological problems such as resource and ecological economics, environmental sociology, psychology and behavioural science, management and policy analysis are also invited. Multi-and interdisciplinary analyses of hydrological problems are within scope. The science published in the Journal of Hydrology is relevant to catchment scales rather than exclusively to a local scale or site.