Processes in Microbial Transport in the Natural Subsurface
- University of California at Davis
- Oregon State University
- California, Univ Of - Davis
- BATTELLE (PACIFIC NW LAB)
- Auburn University
Concern about pathogen contamination of groundwater and the use of bacterial agents in the cleanup of groundwater has highlighted the need for an improved understanding of the fate and transport of microbes in the subsurface. In particular,in situ bioremediation of contaminated groundwater may involve microbial transport promoted by intrinsic bioremediation, biostimulation, or bioaugmentation. The design of remediation schemes involving subsurface biodegradation requires understanding the processes governing the fate and transport of the microbes under the particular physical, biological, and geochemical conditions involved. In this article we focus on the processes involved in the transport of bacteria in the saturated subsurface. We first review the various mathematical representations of bacterial phases in the subsurface, and then review the subsurface physicochemical and biological microbial processes controlling behavior on short (e.g., bioremediation) time scales. Next we describe quantitative representations of these processes, in the context of both continuum and particle-based models and their mathematical linking at the microscale. Then we introduce the macroscopically-relevant biomass-balance model, and summarize particular forms that arise with the incorporation of various of the attachment-detachment processes introduced. Finally we briefly review field bacterial transport experiments and discuss a number of issues that impact the application of current process descriptions and models at the field scale.
- Research Organization:
- Pacific Northwest National Lab., Richland, WA (US)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- US Department of Energy (US)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC06-76RL01830
- OSTI ID:
- 15003205
- Report Number(s):
- PNNL-SA-35848; KP1301010; TRN: US200422%%3
- Journal Information:
- Advances in Water Resources, Vol. 25, Issue 8-12; Other Information: PBD: 1 Aug 2002
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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