Local mass transfer correlations for nonaqueous phase liquid pool dissolution in saturated porous media

Local mass transfer correlations are developed to describe the rate of inte rface mass transfer of single component nonaqueous phase liquid (NAPL) pool s in saturated subsurface formations. A three-dimensional solute transport model is employed to compute local mass transfer coefficients from concentr ation gradients at the NAPL-water interface, assuming that the aqueous phas e concentration along the NAPL-water interface is constant and equal to the solubility concentration. Furthermore, it is assumed that the porous mediu m is homogeneous, the interstitial fluid velocity steady and the dissolved solute may undergo first-order decay or may sorb under local equilibrium co nditions. Power-law expressions relating the local Sherwood number to appro priate local Peclet numbers are developed for both rectangular and elliptic /circular source geometries. The proposed power law correlations are fitted to numerically generated data and the correlation coefficients are determi ned using nonlinear least squares regression. The estimated correlation coe fficients are found to be direct functions of the interstitial fluid veloci ty, pool dimensions, and pool geometry.