Modeling Long-Term Transport of Contaminants Resulting from Dissolution of a Coal Tar Pool in Saturated Porous Media |
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Authors: | Kenneth Y. Lee |
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Affiliation: | Assistant Professor, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Rutgers, The State Univ. of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ 08854. E-mail: kenlee@rci.rutgers.edu
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Abstract: | In this study, a three-dimensional mathematical model for simulating the transport of dissolved contaminants originating from an elliptic-shaped coal tar pool in homogeneous saturated porous media is developed. The methodology of the solution is based on a semianalytical approach that assumes the contaminant source input can be represented by the superposition of a series of consecutive short dissolution pulses. The model accounts for possible solidification of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon compounds as the coal tar pool dissolves. A circular-shaped synthetic coal tar pool consisting of 22 components is used for model simulation. Simulations show that even after 130 years of dissolution, the coal tar pool remains a potential groundwater pollution threat despite a significant reduction in overall pool volume. |
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Keywords: | Coal tar Ground-water pollution Mathematical models Nonaqueous phase liquids Porous materials Hydrologic models |
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