Contaminated ground water imperils our water supply. The biodegradability of hydrocarbon contaminants in soils is effected by sorption processes, intraparticle diffusion and the effects of aging and the availability of electron acceptors. These processes are not fully understood. Predictive models based on physical chemical and biochemical properties of both the contaminants and soils are needed. This three year project brings together the New Jersey Institute of Technology Industry/University Cooperative Research Center (I/UCRC) for Hazardous Waster Management and the French INSA de Lyon Center, Association Reseau Cooperatif de Recherche sur les Dechets (ReCoRD) to address these needs.
The collaborative project will study laboratory scale batch and soil column tests to determine the characteristic physical and biochemical parameters required for model development. The model will be validated by field test data from sites contaminated with cool tar constituents.
The French will develop the microscale characterization of the surface interactions between pollutants and the soils. The U.S. researchers will develops a mathematical predictive model and test it with laboratory and field tests. One third of the U.S. component of this collaborative project will be funded by the I/UCRC. The French Government will fund their component.
