Contaminant transport and biodegradation: 1. A numerical model for reactive transport in porous media

A new numerical solution procedure is presented for simulation of reactive transport in porous media. The new procedure, which is referred to as an optimal test function (OTF) method, is formulated so that it systematically adapts to the changing character of the governing partial differential equation. Relative importance of diffusion, advection, and reaction are directly incorporated into the numerical approximation by judicious choice of the test, or weight, function that appears in the weak form of the equation. Specific algorithms are presented to solve a general class of nonlinear, multispecies transport equations. This includes a variety of models of subsurface contaminant transport with biodegradation.