Hydrogeologic modeling for permeable reactive barriers.

The permeable reactive barrier technology for in situ treatment of chlorinated solvents and other groundwater contaminants is becoming increasingly popular. Field scale implementation of this and other in situ technologies requires careful design based on the site-specific hydrogeology and contaminant plume characteristics. Groundwater flow modeling is an important tool in understanding the hydraulic behavior of the site and optimizing the reactive barrier design. A combination of groundwater flow modeling and particle tracking techniques was used to illustrate the effect of hydraulic conductivity of the aquifer and reactive media on key permeable barrier design parameters, such as the capture zone width, residence time, flow velocity, and discharge. Similar techniques were used to illustrate the modeling approach for design of different configurations of reactive barriers in homogeneous and heterogeneous settings.