Stochastic modeling of reactive transport in wetlands

This study describes the development of a general model for reaction in and performance of spatially heterogeneous bioreactors such as treatment wetlands. The modeled domain possesses local-scale velocities, reaction rates and transverse dispersion coefficients that are functions of an underlying heterogeneity variate representing one or more controlling biophysical attributes, for example, reactive surface area (submerged plant) density. Reaction rate coefficients are treated as related to local velocities in an inverse square fashion via their mutual dependence upon the variate. The study focuses on the solution for the steady-state case with constant inlet concentration. Results compare well with exact solutions developed for laterally-bounded systems in which the heterogeneity is represented explicitly. Employing the bicontinuum analogue of a second-order model, an expression for an effective longitudinal dispersion coefficient as a function of travel distance is developed using the method of moments. The result provides insights into the behavior of concentration as transverse mixing drives the system asymptotically toward Fickian longitudinal dispersion. The model may represent an improvement over other approaches for characterizing treatment wetland performance because it accounts for evolving shear flow dispersion, and because parameters are few in number, physically based, and invariant with mean velocity.