Pedosphere 17(3): 366--372, 2007
ISSN 1002-0160/CN 32-1315/P
©2007 Soil Science Society of China
Published by Elsevier B.V. and Science Press
| Modeling the migration of soluble methanol in unsaturated soil zone |
LI Hong1 , LI Xin-Gang1,2, HUANG Guo-Qiang1,2 and JIANG Bin1 |
1 School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072 (China). E-mail: lihong.tju.163.com
2 National Engineering Research Center for Distillation Technology, Tianjin 300072 (China) |
| ABSTRACT |
| A combined model of solute transport and water flow was developed to simulate the migration of methanol, a soluble organic chemical, in unsaturated soil zone. The solute transport equation considered convective-dispersive transport in the liquid phase as well as diffusion in the gas phase. The effect of rainfall and evapotranspiration on transport was considered at the boundary conditions of the governing equations. Data on the characteristics of a loam soil and the climatic conditions in southern California were also introduced to compare the results with those from a study in the USA in which the profiles of methanol distribution and water content in the soil zone at different times had been depicted. This comparison showed that there was good agreement between the two studies. The results showed that methanol contamination reached a depth of about 250 cm after 8 760 h. In contrast, if rainfall and evapotranspiration were not considered, the depth was only about 140 cm. The model therefore confirmed that rainfall strongly affected solute transport. |
| Key Words: evapotranspiration, methanol, rainfall, solute transport model |
| Citation: Li, H., Li, X. G., Huang, G. Q. and Jiang, B. 2007. Modeling the migration of soluble methanol in unsaturated soil zone. Pedosphere. 17(3): 366-372. |
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