Field investigation of nutrient pulse mixing in an in situ biostimulation experiment

A permeable wall was installed in a shallow, uncontaminated portion of the Borden aquifer, and periodically flushed with a solution of potassium acetate. The acetate pulses were injected at intervals of 5-7 weeks and were observed to merge within 5-10 m of the injection wall. The chief mechanism for the merging of these pulses was longitudinal dispersion. Geochemical changes in the aquifer, manifested as the development of a sustained reducing environment, indicated that the dispersive mixing occurred at the scale of the microorganisms and was not merely an artifact of the sampling method. This work indicates that large-period pulsed injections of a substrate solution might be useful in bioremediation programs where the promotion of injected and ambient water mixing is desirable. It is also advantageous, from the standpoint of biofouling prevention, that this mixing occur at some distance from the injection wells.