Dispersion of pollutants in a porous medium with finite thickness and variable dispersion coefficients

Abstract

Groundwater is subject to the intrusion of pollutants of various types. These pollutants can have natural or anthropogenic sources. Their consumption can therefore affect human health, but also affects the development of vegetation. The objective of this article is to analyze the effect of the dispersion coefficient parameters on the spatio-temporal distribution of pollutants in a saturated porous medium with a finite thickness. This layer is subjected to two types of conditions at the outlet of the aquifer where the dispersion coefficient is a function of depth. The partial differential equations were solved using an implicit finite difference technique. The results of the analysis suggest that the behavior of the concentration profile was influenced by the different output boundary conditions. On the other hand, the parameter, b of the dispersion coefficient depending on the distance has a significant impact on the movement of the solute in a saturated porous medium compared to the parameter, a. In other words, it has more effect on the dispersion of pollutants in aquifers. This study highlights the need to bring insight on the transports parameters while modeling the transport of solute in a porous media.

Keywords

• Groundwater
• Pollutants
• Boundary conditions
• Contaminant transport
• Dispersion coefficient