Franklin's doctoral research had been developed at Hydrogeotechnika Sp.zo.o. in Poland, under the supervision of Professor Jolanta Kwiatkowska-Malina, Professor Grzegorz Malina and Dr Tomasz Kasela.
Congratulations, Dr Obiri-Nyarko on your perseverance and success, and we wish you a bright future!
Abstract:
Permeable reactive barriers (PRBs) offer passive and sustainable treatment of a wide range of groundwater contaminants. In this study, the simultaneous removal of benzene (BTEX) and lead (heavy metals) from groundwater using PRBs was investigated. Through an extensive literature review low-cost and locally available reactive materials were identified and screened using batch tests for their removal effectiveness. Zeolite, brown coal, and the mixtures of compost: zeolite and compost: brown coal were most effective in the removal of benzene and lead. Column experiments subsequently performed to evaluate the performance of selected reactive materials under dynamic conditions revealed that the compost: brown coal (1:3) and compost: brown coal (1:5) mixtures were the most effective in removing lead (via ion-exchange) and benzene (through sorption), respectively. The brown coal: compost mixture was identified as a possible reactive medium for the simultaneous removal of benzene and lead in a PRB. Geochemical modelling demonstrated the feasibility of using PHREEQC to predict/interpret the 1-D transport of lead and long-term performance of the zeolite-PRB. The PHREEQC software may also be useful in assisting the PRB design and management purposes. The study has also shown the importance of performing a feasibility study prior to the installation of a PRB. Long-term column and pilot studies using a mixture of BTEX and heavy metals, and natural groundwater, are also recommended.
