Validation of basaltic glass adsorption capabilities from geothermal arsenic in a basaltic aquifer: A case study from Bjarnarflag power Station, Iceland
Arsenic is a carcinogen known for its acute toxicity to organisms. Geothermal waters are commonly high in arsenic, as shown at the Bjarnarflag Power Plant, Iceland (∼224 μg/kg of solvent). Development of geothermal energy requires adequate disposal of arsenic-rich waters into groundwater/geothermal...
Published in: | Geoscience Frontiers |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , , , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | unknown |
Published: |
Elsevier
2019
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/10044/1/69366 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gsf.2019.01.001 |
id |
ftimperialcol:oai:spiral.imperial.ac.uk:10044/1/69366 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftimperialcol:oai:spiral.imperial.ac.uk:10044/1/69366 2023-05-15T16:46:35+02:00 Validation of basaltic glass adsorption capabilities from geothermal arsenic in a basaltic aquifer: A case study from Bjarnarflag power Station, Iceland Weaver, KC Hoque, MA Amin, SM Markússon, SH Butler, AP 2019-01-14 http://hdl.handle.net/10044/1/69366 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gsf.2019.01.001 unknown Elsevier Geoscience Frontiers © 2019, China University of Geosciences (Beijing) and Peking University. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NCND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). CC-BY-NC-ND 1753 1743 Science & Technology Physical Sciences Geosciences Multidisciplinary Geology Geothermal Groundwater Hydrogeochemistry Arsenic Modelling GROUNDWATER-FLOW SYSTEMS LAKE MYVATN BEHAVIOR WATER 0402 Geochemistry 0403 Geology 0404 Geophysics Journal Article 2019 ftimperialcol https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gsf.2019.01.001 2019-11-07T23:37:54Z Arsenic is a carcinogen known for its acute toxicity to organisms. Geothermal waters are commonly high in arsenic, as shown at the Bjarnarflag Power Plant, Iceland (∼224 μg/kg of solvent). Development of geothermal energy requires adequate disposal of arsenic-rich waters into groundwater/geothermal systems. The outcome of arsenic transport models that assess the effect of geothermal effluent on the environment and ecosystems may be influenced by the sensitivity of hydraulic parameters. However, previous such studies in Iceland do not consider the sensitivity of hydraulic parameters and thereby the interpretations remain unreliable. Here we used the Lake Mývatn basaltic aquifer system as a case study to identify the sensitive hydraulic parameters and assess their role in arsenic transport. We develop a one-dimensional reactive transport model (PHREEQC ver. 2.), using geochemical data from Bjarnarflag, Iceland. In our model, arsenite (H 3 AsO 3 ) was predicted to be the dominant species of inorganic arsenic in both groundwater and geothermal water. Dilution reduced arsenic concentration below ∼5 μg/kg. Adsorption reduced the residual contamination below ∼0.4 μg/kg at 250 m along transect. Based on our modelling, we found volumetric input to be the most sensitive parameter in the model. In addition, the adsorption strength of basaltic glass was such that the physical hydrogeological parameters, namely: groundwater velocity and longitudinal dispersivity had little influence on the concentration profile. Article in Journal/Newspaper Iceland Mývatn Imperial College London: Spiral Mývatn ENVELOPE(-16.985,-16.985,65.600,65.600) Bjarnarflag ENVELOPE(-16.867,-16.867,65.633,65.633) Geoscience Frontiers 10 5 1743 1753 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Imperial College London: Spiral |
op_collection_id |
ftimperialcol |
language |
unknown |
topic |
Science & Technology Physical Sciences Geosciences Multidisciplinary Geology Geothermal Groundwater Hydrogeochemistry Arsenic Modelling GROUNDWATER-FLOW SYSTEMS LAKE MYVATN BEHAVIOR WATER 0402 Geochemistry 0403 Geology 0404 Geophysics |
spellingShingle |
Science & Technology Physical Sciences Geosciences Multidisciplinary Geology Geothermal Groundwater Hydrogeochemistry Arsenic Modelling GROUNDWATER-FLOW SYSTEMS LAKE MYVATN BEHAVIOR WATER 0402 Geochemistry 0403 Geology 0404 Geophysics Weaver, KC Hoque, MA Amin, SM Markússon, SH Butler, AP Validation of basaltic glass adsorption capabilities from geothermal arsenic in a basaltic aquifer: A case study from Bjarnarflag power Station, Iceland |
topic_facet |
Science & Technology Physical Sciences Geosciences Multidisciplinary Geology Geothermal Groundwater Hydrogeochemistry Arsenic Modelling GROUNDWATER-FLOW SYSTEMS LAKE MYVATN BEHAVIOR WATER 0402 Geochemistry 0403 Geology 0404 Geophysics |
description |
Arsenic is a carcinogen known for its acute toxicity to organisms. Geothermal waters are commonly high in arsenic, as shown at the Bjarnarflag Power Plant, Iceland (∼224 μg/kg of solvent). Development of geothermal energy requires adequate disposal of arsenic-rich waters into groundwater/geothermal systems. The outcome of arsenic transport models that assess the effect of geothermal effluent on the environment and ecosystems may be influenced by the sensitivity of hydraulic parameters. However, previous such studies in Iceland do not consider the sensitivity of hydraulic parameters and thereby the interpretations remain unreliable. Here we used the Lake Mývatn basaltic aquifer system as a case study to identify the sensitive hydraulic parameters and assess their role in arsenic transport. We develop a one-dimensional reactive transport model (PHREEQC ver. 2.), using geochemical data from Bjarnarflag, Iceland. In our model, arsenite (H 3 AsO 3 ) was predicted to be the dominant species of inorganic arsenic in both groundwater and geothermal water. Dilution reduced arsenic concentration below ∼5 μg/kg. Adsorption reduced the residual contamination below ∼0.4 μg/kg at 250 m along transect. Based on our modelling, we found volumetric input to be the most sensitive parameter in the model. In addition, the adsorption strength of basaltic glass was such that the physical hydrogeological parameters, namely: groundwater velocity and longitudinal dispersivity had little influence on the concentration profile. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Weaver, KC Hoque, MA Amin, SM Markússon, SH Butler, AP |
author_facet |
Weaver, KC Hoque, MA Amin, SM Markússon, SH Butler, AP |
author_sort |
Weaver, KC |
title |
Validation of basaltic glass adsorption capabilities from geothermal arsenic in a basaltic aquifer: A case study from Bjarnarflag power Station, Iceland |
title_short |
Validation of basaltic glass adsorption capabilities from geothermal arsenic in a basaltic aquifer: A case study from Bjarnarflag power Station, Iceland |
title_full |
Validation of basaltic glass adsorption capabilities from geothermal arsenic in a basaltic aquifer: A case study from Bjarnarflag power Station, Iceland |
title_fullStr |
Validation of basaltic glass adsorption capabilities from geothermal arsenic in a basaltic aquifer: A case study from Bjarnarflag power Station, Iceland |
title_full_unstemmed |
Validation of basaltic glass adsorption capabilities from geothermal arsenic in a basaltic aquifer: A case study from Bjarnarflag power Station, Iceland |
title_sort |
validation of basaltic glass adsorption capabilities from geothermal arsenic in a basaltic aquifer: a case study from bjarnarflag power station, iceland |
publisher |
Elsevier |
publishDate |
2019 |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/10044/1/69366 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gsf.2019.01.001 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-16.985,-16.985,65.600,65.600) ENVELOPE(-16.867,-16.867,65.633,65.633) |
geographic |
Mývatn Bjarnarflag |
geographic_facet |
Mývatn Bjarnarflag |
genre |
Iceland Mývatn |
genre_facet |
Iceland Mývatn |
op_source |
1753 1743 |
op_relation |
Geoscience Frontiers |
op_rights |
© 2019, China University of Geosciences (Beijing) and Peking University. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NCND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). |
op_rightsnorm |
CC-BY-NC-ND |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gsf.2019.01.001 |
container_title |
Geoscience Frontiers |
container_volume |
10 |
container_issue |
5 |
container_start_page |
1743 |
op_container_end_page |
1753 |
_version_ |
1766036687548317696 |