The impact of clay microstructural features on the natural attenuation of contaminants

The hydraulic conductivity of clay soils which is generally determined from permeability experiments provides a macroscopic view of the soil response performance. A combined Kozeny–Carman–Poiseuille (KCP) type of analysis is used to provide the basis for determination of the microstructural nature of the soils subject to permeability testing. It is suggested that the soil particlesʹ surface wetting areas, which are analytically deduced, can provide an appreciation of the relative sizes or nature of the fabric units or packets of particles. This leads one to examine more closely the transport of fluids and solutes through these soils, and in particular, the physicochemical attenuating processes such as partitioning via sorption and accumulation.