@article{b7f7aef2dc1741dca085ebf09ebd1e29,
title = "Coupled effect of porous network and water content on the natural attenuation of diesel in unsaturated soils",
abstract = "The natural attenuation potential of a vadose zone against diesel is critical for optimizing remedial actions and determining groundwater vulnerability to contamination. Here, diesel attenuation in unsaturated soils was systematically examined to develop a qualitative relationship between physical soil properties and the natural attenuation capacity of a vadose zone against diesel. The uniformity coefficient (Cu) and water saturation (Sw, %) were considered as the proxies reflecting the degree of effects by porous network and water content in different soils, respectively. These, in turn, are related to the primary diesel attenuation mechanisms of volatilization and biodegradation. The volatilization of diesel was inversely proportional to Cu and Sw, which could be attributed to effective pore channels facilitating gas transport. Conversely, biodegradation was highly proportional to Cu under unsaturated conditions (Sw = 35–71%), owing to nutrients typically associated with fine soil particles. The microbial community in unsaturated soils was affected by Sw rather than Cu. The overall diesel attenuation including volatilization and biodegradation was optimized at Sw = 35% for all tested soils.",
keywords = "Diesel, Natural attenuation potential, Uniformity coefficient, Vadose zone, Water saturation",
author = "Seongnam An and Kibeum Kim and Heesoo Woo and Yun, {Seong Taek} and Jaeshik Chung and Seunghak Lee",
note = "Funding Information: This work was supported by the Korea Environment Industry & Technology Institute ( KEITI ) through the Subsurface Environment Management (SEM) Project ( 2018002440006 and 2020002440002 ) funded by the Korea Ministry of Environment (MOE) , the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) through the {\textquoteleft}Climate Change Impact Minimizing Technology{\textquoteright} Program, funded by the Korean Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT) ( 2020M3H5A1080712 ), and the Basic Science Research Program through the NRF funded by the Ministry of Education ( 2019R1A6A3A01095159 ). The authors also acknowledge the support from the Future Research Program ( 2E31261 ), funded by the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) . S. Lee was partly supported by the KU- KIST Graduate School Project. The authors would like to thank National Instrumentation Center for Environmental Management at Seoul National University (NICEM, Korea) for the analysis of soil physicochemical properties. Funding Information: This work was supported by the Korea Environment Industry & Technology Institute (KEITI) through the Subsurface Environment Management (SEM) Project (2018002440006 and 2020002440002) funded by the Korea Ministry of Environment (MOE), the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) through the {\textquoteleft}Climate Change Impact Minimizing Technology{\textquoteright} Program, funded by the Korean Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT) (2020M3H5A1080712), and the Basic Science Research Program through the NRF funded by the Ministry of Education (2019R1A6A3A01095159). The authors also acknowledge the support from the Future Research Program (2E31261), funded by the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST). S. Lee was partly supported by the KU-KIST Graduate School Project. The authors would like to thank National Instrumentation Center for Environmental Management at Seoul National University (NICEM, Korea) for the analysis of soil physicochemical properties. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2022 Elsevier Ltd",
year = "2022",
month = sep,
doi = "10.1016/j.chemosphere.2022.134804",
language = "English",
volume = "302",
journal = "Chemosphere",
issn = "0045-6535",
publisher = "Elsevier Limited",
}
