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Dittrich, Timothy M ¹

¹ University of Colorado-Boulder

The presence of mobile colloids (particles between 1 nm and 1 µm in size) in natural soil and groundwater systems has been well established. Colloids generally have a high sorptive capacity resulting from their high surface area to mass ratio, which makes them effective sorbents of low solubility, strongly sorbing contaminants. Mobile colloids that sorb contaminants can increase the apparent solubility and rate of transport of the contaminants when desorption from the colloids is slow relative to the rate of flow. This process is known as colloid-facilitated transport (CFT). The additional transport of contaminants associated with mobile colloids should be accounted for to accurately predict transport rates of strongly-sorbing contaminants in the environment. Some examples of contaminants that have the potential for CFT are hydrophobic pesticides, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), actinide cations (e.g., Th, U, Pu, Am), and many metals (e.g, Pb, Cu, Hg). Many low solubility contaminants that have the potential for CFT are also harmful or toxic to humans, underscoring the importance of accurate modeling techniques to protect water sources from contamination.

Contaminated Department of Energy (DOE) sites have been particularly valuable research opportunities for studying the transport of radionuclides in the natural environment. The DOE has conducted energy and weapons research and development in thirty-one states and Puerto Rico and has introduced many toxic and radioactive chemicals into surface waters, soils, and groundwater. Field experiments on DOE sites including the Nevada Test Site, the Hanford 200 Area tank farm, Rocky Flats CO, and Oak Ridge TN, have confirmed that metals and radionuclides have moved further than expected due to colloid-facilitated transport.

The major goal of this research project is to identify and quantify the effects of sorption kinetics on colloid-facilitated transport in unsaturated porous media. This information will be used to adapt current models for colloid-facilitated transport in saturated porous media to colloid transport in unsaturated media. Colloid and colloid-facilitated transport experiments are being conducted on two soil systems: (1) constructed porous media with quartz sand containing an artificial macropore and (2) natural undisturbed cores from two DOE sites (Rocky Flats, CO and Oak Ridge, TN). Cesium and strontium isotopes are being used to examine the role of sorption kinetics and to quantify the influence of exchange between preferential flow paths and the soil matrix on the fate of colloid-bound contaminants.