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Identification of iron and sulfate release processes during riverbank filtration using chemical mass balance modeling

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Abstract

Various hydrogeochemical processes can modify the quality of river water during riverbank filtration (RBF). Identifying the subsurface processes responsible for the bank-filtered water quality is challenging, but essential for predicting water quality changes and determining the necessity of post-treatment. However, no systematic approach for this has been proposed yet. In this study, the subsurface hydrogeochemical processes that caused the high concentrations of total iron (Fe) and sulfate (SO42−) in the bank-filtered water were investigated at a pilot-scale RBF site in South Korea. For this purpose, water quality variations were monitored in both the extraction well and the adjacent river over five months. The volumetric mixing ratio between the river water and the native groundwater in the RBF well was calculated to understand the effect of mixing on the quality of water from the well and to assess the potential contribution of subsurface reactions to water quality changes. To identify the subsurface processes responsible for the evolution of Fe and SO42− during RBF, an inverse modeling based on the chemical mass balance was conducted using the water quality data and the calculated volumetric mixing ratio. The modeling results suggest that pyrite oxidation by abundant O2 present in an unsaturated zone could be a primary process explaining the evolution of total Fe and SO42− during RBF at the study site. The presence of pyrite in the aquifer was indirectly supported by iron sulfate hydroxide (Fe(SO4)(OH)) detected in oxidized aquifer sediments.

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Funding

The authors acknowledge support from the Future Research Program (2E30510) funded by the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) and the Korea Environmental Industry & Technology Institute (KEITI) through the Subsurface Environment Management (SEM) Project (2018002440006) funded by the Korea Ministry of Environment (MOE). PKK also acknowledges the College of Science & Engineering at the University of Minnesota and the George and Orpha Gibson Endowment for its generous support of Hydrogeology and the Minnesota Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund as recommended by the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Water Cycle Research Center, National Agenda Research Division, Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), Seoul, 02792, Korea

    Seongnam An & Seunghak Lee

  2. Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Korea University, Seoul, 02841, Korea

    Seongnam An & Seong-Taek Yun

  3. Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA

    Peter K. Kang & Woonghee Lee

  4. KWR Watercycle Research Institute, PO Box 1072, 3430 BB, Nieuwegein, The Netherlands

    Pieter J. Stuyfzand

  5. Department of Land, Water and Environment Research, Urban Water Circulation Research Center, Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology (KICT), Goyang-si, 10223, Korea

    Saerom Park

  6. Graduate School of Energy and Environment (KU-KIST GREEN SCHOOL), Korea University, Seoul, 02841, Korea

    Seunghak Lee

  7. Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geoscience, Technical University Delft, Delft, Netherlands

    Pieter J. Stuyfzand

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  1. Seongnam An
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  2. Peter K. Kang
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  4. Woonghee Lee
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Contributions

Seongnam An was involved in field monitoring, REACTION + modeling, writing—original draft. Peter K. Kang helped in writing—review and editing. Pieter J. Stuyfzand contributed to review and comment. Woonghee Lee was involved in MODFLOW and PMPATH modeling. Saerom Park and Seong-Taek Yun contributed to review and comment. Seunghak Lee helped in funding acquisition, writing—revision and editing, project administration.

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An, S., Kang, P.K., Stuyfzand, P.J. et al. Identification of iron and sulfate release processes during riverbank filtration using chemical mass balance modeling. Environ Geochem Health 43, 3583–3596 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-021-00850-0

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