Microscale-based modeling of polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbon transport and biodegradation in soil
- Cornell Univ., Ithaca, NY (United States)
A mathematical model to describe polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) desorption, transport, and biodegradation in saturated soil was constructed by describing kinetics at a microscopic level and incorporating this description into macroscale transport equations. This approach is novel in that the macroscale predictions are made independently from a knowledge of microscale kinetics and macroscopic fluid dynamics and no adjustable parameters are used to fit the macroscopic response. It was assumed that soil organic matter, the principal site of PAH sorption, was composed of a continuum of compartments with a gamma distribution of desorption rate coefficients. The mass transport of substrates and microorganisms in a mesopore was described by diffusion and that in a macropore by one-dimensional advection and dispersion. Naphthalene was considered as a test PAH compound for initial model simulations. Three mechanisms of naphthalene biodegradation were considered: growth-associated degradation as a carbon and energy source for microbial growth; degradation for maintenance energy; and growth-independent degradation. The Haldane modification of the Monod equation was used to describe microbial growth rates and to account for possible growth inhibition by naphthalene. Multisubstrate interactions were considered and described with a noninteractive model for specific growth rates. The sensitivity of selected model parameters was analyzed under conditions when naphthalene was the sole growth-rate-limiting substrate.
- OSTI ID:
- 260438
- Journal Information:
- Biotechnology and Bioengineering, Journal Name: Biotechnology and Bioengineering Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 51; ISSN BIBIAU; ISSN 0006-3592
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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