Abstract
Wastes from offshore oil drilling activities are often discharged to the marine environment. Solid wastes that settle onto the bottom sediment may pose a health threat to marine organisms and eventually to man through the food chain. We need to understand their fate in order to predict the chemical concentration levels and life-times in the sediment and adjoining aquatic boundary layer. A laboratory simulation of selected in-bed processes that addresses contaminant leaching from the sediment is proposed. The process chosen for simulation in this study is the coupled desorption-diffusion of contaminants from the bed to the water column. A simple mathematical model of the process is also proposed. Preliminary results using organic chemicals for both the simulation and the model are presented. The results suggest that the experimental procedure represents a good way of estimating the diffusive leaching rates of hydrophobic compounds from contaminated sediments.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Literature Cited
Callahan, M. A., M. W. Silmak, N. W. Gabel, I. P. May, C. F. Fowler, J. R. Freed, P. Jennings, R. L. Durfee, F. C. Whitmore, B. Maestri, W. R. Mabey, B. R. Holt, andC. Gould. 1979. Water-Related Fate of 129 Priority Pollutants. Report No. EPA-440/4-79-029a. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C.
Corwin, D. L. 1984. A study of the physicochemical dynamics of pesticide-sediment-water interactions using one-dimensional numerical diffusion models. Ph.D. Thesis. Univ. California, Riverside, California.
Crank, J. 1975. The Mathematics of Diffusion. Clarendon Press, Oxford. 414 p.
Ditoro, D. M. andL. M. Horzempa. 1982. Reversible and resistant components of PCB adsorption-desorption: Isotherms.Environ. Sci. Technol. 16:594–602.
Fang, C. S. and S. A. Smith. 1985. Cleaning of ocean floor near offshore platforms in the Gulf Coast. Paper No. 6b, Amer. Inst. Chem. Eng. Mtg., Houston, TX, March 24–28, 1985.
Formica, S. J., J. A. Baron, L. J. Thibodeaux, andK. T. Valsaraj. 1988. PCB transport into lake sediments: A conceptual model and laboratory simulation.Environ. Sci. Technol. 22:1435–1440.
Fredunsland, A., R. L. Jones, andJ. M. Prausnitz. 1975. Group contribution estimation of activity coefficients in non-ideal liquid mixtures.Am. Inst. Chem. Engineer. J. 21:1086.
Gillmor, R. B., C. A. Menzie, G. M. Mariane, andD. R. Levin. 1985. Effect of exploratory-drilling discharges on the benthos, p. 243–270.In I. W. Duedall, D. R. Kester, P. K. Park, and B. H. Ketcham (eds.). Wastes in the Ocean, Vol. 4. Energy Wastes in the Ocean. John Wiley and Sons, New York.
Karickhoff, S. W. 1980. Sorption kinetics of hydrophobic pollutants in natural sediments, p. 193–205.In R. A. Baker (ed.), Contaminants and Sediments, Vol. 2. Analysis, Chemistry, Biology. Ann Arbor Science Publishers, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Karickhoff, S. W. 1984. Organic pollutant sorption in aquatic systems.J. Hydraulic Engineer. 110:707–735.
Karickhoff, S. W., D. S. Brown, andT. A. Scott. 1979. Sorption of hydrophobic pollutants on natural sediments.Water Res. 13:241–248.
Lyman, W. J., W. F. Reehl, andD. H. Rosenblatt. 1982. Handbook of Chemical Property Estimation Methods: Environmental Behavior of Organic Compounds. McGraw-Hill, New York.
Powell, M. J. D. 1964. An efficient method for finding the minimum of a function of several variables without calculating derivatives.Computer J. 7:155–162.
Redweik, R. J., Jr. 1987. Drilling waste disposal practices in the Gulf of Mexico. Paper No. 133B, Amer. Inst. Chem. Eng. Mtg., New York, NY, November 15–20, 1987.
Reid, R. C., J. M. Prausnitz, andT. K. Sherwood. 1977. The Properties of Liquids and Gases. McGraw-Hill, New York. 688 p.
Schwarzenbach, R. P. andJ. Westall. 1981. Transport of nonpolar organic compounds from surface water to groundwater. Laboratory Sorption Studies.Environ. Sci. Technol. 15:1360–1367.
Thibodeaux, L. J., D. D. Reible, andC. S. Fang. 1986. Transport of chemical contaminants in the marine environment—A vignette model, p. 49–64.In Y. Cohen (ed.), Pollutants in a Multimedia Environment, Plenum Press, New York.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Baron, J.A., Thibodeaux, L.J., Reible, D.D. et al. Laboratory simulation of diffusion in contaminated marine sediments. Estuaries 13, 81–88 (1990). https://doi.org/10.2307/1351435
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/1351435