Using High Performance Computing to Understand Roles of Labile and Nonlabile U(VI) on Hanford 300 Area Plume Longevity
Evolution of a hexavalent uranium [U(VI)] plume at the Hanford 300 Area bordering the Columbia River is investigated to evaluate the roles of labile and nonlabile forms of U(VI) on the longevity of the plume. A high fidelity, three-dimensional, field-scale, reactive flow and transport model is used to represent the system. Richards equation coupled to multicomponent reactive transport equations are solved for times up to 100 years taking into account rapid fluctuations in the Columbia River stage resulting in pulse releases of U(VI) into the river. The peta-scale computer code PFLOTRAN developed under a DOE SciDAC-2 project is employed in the simulations and executed on ORNL's Cray XT5 supercomputer Jaguar. Labile U(VI) is represented in the model through surface complexation reactions and its nonlabile form through dissolution of metatorbernite used as a surrogate mineral. Initial conditions are constructed corresponding to the U(VI) plume already in place to avoid uncertainties associated with the lack of historical data for the waste stream. The cumulative U(VI) flux into the river is compared for cases of equilibrium and multirate sorption models and for no sorption. The sensitivity of the U(VI) flux into the river on the initial plume configuration is investigated. The presence of nonlabile U(VI) was found to be essential in explaining the longevity of the U(VI) plume and the prolonged high U(VI) concentrations at the site exceeding the EPA MCL for uranium.
- Research Organization:
- Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility (OLCF); Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC05-76RL01830
- OSTI ID:
- 1051182
- Report Number(s):
- PNNL-SA-84075; VZJAAB; KJ0403000; TRN: US201218%%1287
- Journal Information:
- Vadose Zone Journal, Vol. 11, Issue 2; ISSN 1539-1663
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Field-Scale Model for the Natural Attenuation of Uranium at the Hanford 300 Area using High Performance Computing
Stochastic Simulation of Uranium Migration at the Hanford 300 Area
Related Subjects
COLUMBIA RIVER
COMPUTER CODES
CONFIGURATION
DISSOLUTION
FLUCTUATIONS
PERFORMANCE
PLUMES
RIVERS
SENSITIVITY
SORPTION
SUPERCOMPUTERS
TRANSPORT
URANIUM
US EPA
WASTES
Hanford 300 Area
high performance computing
reactive transport