M.A. Widdowson
R. L. Smith
M.W. Killingstad
2002
<p><span>A two-dimensional numerical solute transport model was developed for simulating an enhanced in situ denitrification experiment performed in a nitrate-contaminated aquifer on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. In this experiment, formate </span><span class="equationTd"><span id="MathJax-Element-1-Frame" class="MathJax" data-mathml="<math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" overflow="scroll"><mrow><mo>(</mo><msup><mi>HCOO</mi><mrow><mo>-</mo></mrow></msup><mo>)</mo></mrow></math>"><span class="MJX_Assistive_MathML">(HCOO-)</span></span></span><span> was injected for a period of 26 days into the carbon-limited aquifer to stimulate denitrification. Calibration of the vertical-profile site model was demonstrated through error analysis and comparison with formate, nitrate, and nitrite concentration data monitored along a transect of three multilevel groundwater sampling wells for 75 days after initial injection. Formate utilization rates were approximately 142 and 38 μM/day for nitrate and nitrite reduction, respectively. Nitrate and nitrite utilization rates were approximately 29 and 8 μM/day, respectively. Nitrate utilization rates under enhanced conditions were 1 order of magnitude greater than previously reported naturally occurring rates. The nitrite production rate was approximately 29 μM/day. Persistence of nitrite was attributed to a combination of factors, including electron donor (formate) limitation late in the experiment, preferential utilization of nitrate as an electron acceptor, and greater nitrite production relative to nitrite utilization.</span></p>
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10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9372(2002)128:6(491)
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ASCE
Modeling enhanced in situ denitrification in groundwater
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