CONTENTS
1.1 Introduction....................................................................................................1
1.2 Groundwater Contamination.......................................................................2
1.2.1 Groundwater Contamination Fate and Transport ........................4
1.3 Groundwater Remediation...........................................................................7
1.4 PRBs: Emerging Technology for Groundwater Remediation................ 13
1.4.1 Potential Problems Associated with the Long-Term
Performance of PRBs ....................................................................... 16
1.5 Conclusion .................................................................................................... 19
References............................................................................................................... 19
1
Permeable Reactive Barriers: Cost-Effective
and Sustainable Remediation of
Groundwater
Ravi Naidu, Dawit N. Bekele, and Volker Birke
1.1 Introduction
Contaminated sites represent a major challenge for the long-term sustainability of the environment. In addition to their potential adverse impacts on
human health, surface and groundwater quality, and ecological processes,
they also represent a lost economic opportunity. Sources of contaminants
include those arising from anthropogenic activities such as industrial and
agricultural practices, mining activities, accidental spillages, and so on
(Barzi et al., 1996; Naidu, 1996), and natural geogenic processes (Naidu et al.,
2006), with the latter largely associated with metals and metalloids such as
arsenic, lead, cadmium, and mercury. Irrespective of the source of contaminants, they will interact with soil colloidal particles and moisture in the nearsurface leachable zone. They can, therefore, be dissolved/solubilized into
water infiltrating through any unsaturated zone present in the soil profile.
They can penetrate below the water table and subsequently migrate laterally
in flowing groundwater and transported off-site, thus posing a serious risk
to groundwater quality.
1
1.1 Introduction....................................................................................................1
1.2 Groundwater Contamination.......................................................................2
1.2.1 Groundwater Contamination Fate and Transport ........................4
1.3 Groundwater Remediation...........................................................................7
1.4 PRBs: Emerging Technology for Groundwater Remediation................ 13
1.4.1 Potential Problems Associated with the Long-Term
Performance of PRBs ....................................................................... 16
1.5 Conclusion .................................................................................................... 19
References............................................................................................................... 19
1
Permeable Reactive Barriers: Cost-Effective
and Sustainable Remediation of
Groundwater
Ravi Naidu, Dawit N. Bekele, and Volker Birke
1.1 Introduction
Contaminated sites represent a major challenge for the long-term sustainability of the environment. In addition to their potential adverse impacts on
human health, surface and groundwater quality, and ecological processes,
they also represent a lost economic opportunity. Sources of contaminants
include those arising from anthropogenic activities such as industrial and
agricultural practices, mining activities, accidental spillages, and so on
(Barzi et al., 1996; Naidu, 1996), and natural geogenic processes (Naidu et al.,
2006), with the latter largely associated with metals and metalloids such as
arsenic, lead, cadmium, and mercury. Irrespective of the source of contaminants, they will interact with soil colloidal particles and moisture in the nearsurface leachable zone. They can, therefore, be dissolved/solubilized into
water infiltrating through any unsaturated zone present in the soil profile.
They can penetrate below the water table and subsequently migrate laterally
in flowing groundwater and transported off-site, thus posing a serious risk
to groundwater quality.
1