Effects of oil field brine wastewater on saturated hydraulic conductivity of smectitic loam soils

Spills of brine wastewater produced during oil well drilling are occurring more frequently in the Great Plains, resulting in crop production loss on affected soil. Remediation requires removal of salt from the topsoil, which might be accomplished by leaching to subsurface horizons or subsurface drains. A laboratory study determined the effects of brine on saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ks) of four nonimpacted surface soils from western North Dakota, USA. Repacked soil cores were subjected to saturated water flow, followed by one pore volume of brine. Subsequent saturated water flow leached brine from the soil and reduced Ks as much as 97% (0.086–0.003 cm h−1) within 24 h. Effluent total dissolved solids (TDS) approached 250 000 mg L−1 then declined (5 mg L−1) with continued leaching, but Ks did not increase. Removal of soluble salts during leaching increased the relative sodium concentrations (ESP > 55), causing clay swelling/dispersion and reduced Ks. Postbrine gypsum application (11.2 Mg ha−1) to replace exchangeable sodium with calcium did not improve Ks. This evidence suggests that if subsurface drainage is used for reclaiming brine-impacted soils that special attention be given to where dispersion/swelling is occurring, leaching water quality, and closely positioning calcium amendments within the high sodium zones.

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Characterization of stony soils' hydraulic conductivity using laboratory and numerical experiments

SOIL ◽

10.5194/soil-2-421-2016 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 2 (3) ◽

pp. 421-431 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Eléonore Beckers ◽

Mathieu Pichault ◽

Wanwisa Pansak ◽

Aurore Degré ◽

Sarah Garré

Keyword(s):

Hydraulic Conductivity ◽

Water Flow ◽

Predictive Models ◽

Laboratory Experiments ◽

Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity ◽

Experimental Conditions ◽

Rock Fragments ◽

Unsaturated Hydraulic Conductivity ◽

The One ◽

The Impact

Abstract. Determining soil hydraulic properties is of major concern in various fields of study. Although stony soils are widespread across the globe, most studies deal with gravel-free soils, so that the literature describing the impact of stones on the hydraulic conductivity of a soil is still rather scarce. Most frequently, models characterizing the saturated hydraulic conductivity of stony soils assume that the only effect of rock fragments is to reduce the volume available for water flow, and therefore they predict a decrease in hydraulic conductivity with an increasing stoniness. The objective of this study is to assess the effect of rock fragments on the saturated and unsaturated hydraulic conductivity. This was done by means of laboratory experiments and numerical simulations involving different amounts and types of coarse fragments. We compared our results with values predicted by the aforementioned predictive models. Our study suggests that it might be ill-founded to consider that stones only reduce the volume available for water flow. We pointed out several factors of the saturated hydraulic conductivity of stony soils that are not considered by these models. On the one hand, the shape and the size of inclusions may substantially affect the hydraulic conductivity. On the other hand, laboratory experiments show that an increasing stone content can counteract and even overcome the effect of a reduced volume in some cases: we observed an increase in saturated hydraulic conductivity with volume of inclusions. These differences are mainly important near to saturation. However, comparison of results from predictive models and our experiments in unsaturated conditions shows that models and data agree on a decrease in hydraulic conductivity with stone content, even though the experimental conditions did not allow testing for stone contents higher than 20 %.

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Effects of polyacrylamide molecular weight and mass concentration on water transport characteristics of iron tailings

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-85338-8 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Bo Sun ◽

Chunjuan Lyu ◽

Rutian Bi ◽

Lu Xia ◽

Xu Zhang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Molecular Weight ◽

Hydraulic Conductivity ◽

Water Content ◽

Mass Concentration ◽

Water Retention ◽

Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity ◽

Infiltration Capacity ◽

Molecular Weights ◽

Saturated Water ◽

Saturated Water Content

AbstractIron tailings have few macropores which severely inhibit infiltration and transport of soil water. Polyacrylamide (PAM) can regulate soil water, but it is rarely used when remediating tailings matrix. In this research, PAM of four molecular weights of 300w, 600w, 800w, and 1000w were selected as amendments, and were each applied at five mass concentrations of 0% (CK), 0.01%, 0.04%, 0.08%, and 0.16% to observe their effects on water transport in iron tailings using column simulations in the laboratory. After adding PAM, the water retention and saturated water content of iron tailings increased significantly (P < 0.05). With increases in PAM molecular weight and mass concentration, the saturated hydraulic conductivity showed a downward trend, but the saturated hydraulic conductivity increased after a dry–wet cycle. With the increase of PAM mass concentration, adding PAM of 1000w molecular weight to iron tailing decreased infiltration capacity, but treatments of other molecular weights all initially increased then decreased infiltration capacity. The greatest improvement on infiltration capacity of iron tailings was observed with the addition of PAM of 300w molecular weight and 0.01% mass concentration. Adding PAM increased the vertical depth of the saturation zone of iron tailings (P < 0.05) with a maximum depth of 20.83 cm. The Kostiakov model more accurately simulated water infiltration of iron tailings compared with the Horton and Philip models. On the whole, when PAM of low molecular weight and concentration was added to iron tailings, PAM increased stable infiltration, saturated water content, and water retention. It also inhibited saturated hydraulic conductivity of iron tailings. Therefore, in practice, it is necessary to select the appropriate molecular weight and mass concentration of PAM according to the dominant limiting factors and remediation needs of the matrix.

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Quantitative Evaluation of the Spatial Variation of Surface Soil Properties in a Typical Alluvial Plain of the Lower Yellow River Using Classical Statistics, Geostatistics and Single Fractal and Multifractal Methods

Applied Sciences ◽

10.3390/app10175796 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (17) ◽

pp. 5796

Author(s):

Jiang Zhan ◽

Yujiang He ◽

Guizhang Zhao ◽

Zhiping Li ◽

Qiaoling Yuan ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Hydraulic Conductivity ◽

Spatial Variability ◽

Soil Properties ◽

Yellow River ◽

Clay Content ◽

Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity ◽

The Lower Yellow River ◽

Saturated Water ◽

Classical Statistics ◽

Saturated Water Content

The spatial variability of soil properties has always been a significant research field in geoscience. The types of soil properties cover a wide range, but most studies have focused on the spatial variability of soil physicochemical properties over the past decades. Studies on soil hydraulic characteristics are limited, and most of them are limited to the farmland scale. However, the spatial variability of regional soil properties (soil texture and hydraulic properties) is valuable for the study of sedimentation processes and soil water transport. Therefore, here, the spatial variation of six soil properties (sand, silt, clay content, bulk density, saturated water content and saturated hydraulic conductivity) in the typical alluvial plain area of the lower Yellow River is quantitatively studied, by using classical statistics, geostatistics and single fractal and multifractal methods. This study mainly quantitatively analysed the spatial variability of different soil properties and compared four research methods. Although the coefficient of variation, nugget coefficient, single fractal dimension and multifractal spectral width can reflect spatial variability, diverse conclusions are drawn (on variability) if different methods are used, and the different soil properties show large disparities. These four methods show a different variation order of soil properties, but there are some common conclusions based on analysis and judgment. In general, the silt content in the study area is stable, mainly originating from loess transported by Yellow River erosion, which is also reflected in the Kriging interpolation maps under the geostatistical models. The variation in bulk density and saturated water content is weak, and the spatial variability of sand and clay content is moderate. In addition, the saturated hydraulic conductivity fluctuates violently. This may be related to the differences in local topography, human activity and the content of sand and clay, each of which significantly affects the saturated hydraulic conductivity. Classical statistics has a limitation because it fails to corelate with spatial location. Due to the small sample capacity and calculation error of lag distance, the accuracy of geostatistics and single fractal dimensions needs to be improved. Multifractal spectral analysis does not need to consider the normality of data and can quantitatively represent local characteristics; therefore, its results have high reliability.

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The exponential decline in saturated hydraulic conductivity with depth: a novel method for exploring its effect on water flow paths and transit time distribution

Hydrological Processes ◽

10.1002/hyp.10777 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 30 (14) ◽

pp. 2438-2450 ◽

Cited By ~ 29

Author(s):

A. A. Ameli ◽

J. J. McDonnell ◽

K. Bishop

Keyword(s):

Hydraulic Conductivity ◽

Water Flow ◽

Transit Time ◽

Time Distribution ◽

Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity ◽

Flow Paths ◽

Exponential Decline ◽

Novel Method ◽

Transit Time Distribution ◽

Water Flow Paths

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Characterization of stony soils' hydraulic conductivity using laboratory and numerical experiments

SOIL Discussions ◽

10.5194/soild-2-1103-2015 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 2 (2) ◽

pp. 1103-1133

Author(s):

M. Pichault ◽

E. Beckers ◽

A. Degré ◽

S. Garré

Keyword(s):

Hydraulic Conductivity ◽

Water Flow ◽

Numerical Experiments ◽

Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity ◽

Rock Fragments ◽

Hydraulic Behaviour ◽

Unsaturated Hydraulic Conductivity ◽

The One ◽

The Impact

Abstract. Determining soil hydraulic properties is of major concern in various fields of study. Though stony soils are widespread across the globe, most studies deal with gravel-free soils so that the literature describing the impact of stones on soil's hydraulic conductivity is still rather scarce. Most frequently, models characterizing the saturated hydraulic conductivity of stony soils assume that the only effect of rock fragments is to reduce the volume available for water flow and therefore they predict a decrease in hydraulic conductivity with an increasing stoniness. The objective of this study is to assess the effect of rock fragments on the saturated and unsaturated hydraulic conductivity. This was done by means of laboratory and numerical experiments involving different amounts and types of coarse fragments. We compared our results with values predicted by the aforementioned models. Our study suggests that considering that stones only reduce the volume available for water flow might be ill-founded. We pointed out several drivers of the saturated hydraulic conductivity of stony soils, not considered by these models. On the one hand, the shape and the size of inclusions may substantially affect the hydraulic conductivity. On the other hand, the presence of rock fragments can counteract and even overcome the effect of a reduced volume in some cases. We attribute this to the creation of voids at the fine earth-stone interface. Nevertheless, these differences are mainly important near to saturation. However, we come up with a more nuanced view regarding the validity of the models under unsaturated conditions. Indeed, under unsaturated conditions, the models seem to represent the hydraulic behaviour of stones reasonably well.

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Three oil field workers died after inhaling carbon monoxide gas in an oil well cellar in California.

10.26616/nioshsface94ca016 ◽

1997 ◽

Keyword(s):

Carbon Monoxide ◽

Oil Field ◽

Oil Well ◽

Field Workers

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Dynamic Cropping Systems for Sustainable Crop Production in the Northern Great Plains

Agronomy Journal ◽

10.2134/agronj2006.0132 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 99 (4) ◽

pp. 904-911 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

D. L. Tanaka ◽

J. M. Krupinsky ◽

S. D. Merrill ◽

M. A. Liebig ◽

J. D. Hanson

Keyword(s):

Great Plains ◽

Crop Production ◽

Cropping Systems ◽

Northern Great Plains ◽

Sustainable Crop Production

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A Simplified Falling-Head Technique for Rapid Determination of Field-Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity

Soil Science Society of America Journal ◽

10.2136/sssaj2004.0066 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 68 (1) ◽

pp. 66 ◽

Cited By ~ 17

Author(s):

V. Bagarello ◽

M. Iovino ◽

D. Elrick

Keyword(s):

Hydraulic Conductivity ◽

Rapid Determination ◽

Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity

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Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity of Clayey Tills and the Role of Fractures

Hydrology Research ◽

10.2166/nh.1990.0009 ◽

1990 ◽

Vol 21 (2) ◽

pp. 119-132 ◽

Cited By ~ 48

Author(s):

Johnny Fredericia

Keyword(s):

Hydraulic Conductivity ◽

American Studies ◽

Field Measurements ◽

Present Knowledge ◽

Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity ◽

Field Observations ◽

Laboratory Measurements ◽

Vertical Hydraulic Conductivity ◽

Data Field

The background for the present knowledge about hydraulic conductivity of clayey till in Denmark is summarized. The data show a difference of 1-2 orders of magnitude in the vertical hydraulic conductivity between values from laboratory measurements and field measurements. This difference is discussed and based on new data, field observations and comparison with North American studies, it is concluded to be primarily due to fractures in the till.

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