Pore water flux

Rivera-Duarte, I. and A.R. Flegal. 1993. Pore water fluxes of silver in estuaries. Pages 37-39 in Andren, A.W., T.W. Bober, E.A. Crecelius, J.R. Kramer, S.N. Luoma, J.H. Rodgers, and A. Sodergren (organizers). Proceedings of the First International Conference on Transport, Fate, and Effects of Silver in the Environment. Univ. Wisconsin Sea Grant Inst., Madison, WI. 

Molalities or molarities of ions and non-ionic compounds, mol/kg or mol/L Fluid viscosity. Pa s, or chemical potential, J/mol Chemical potential of solute, J/mol Chemical potential of solvent, J/mol Chemical potential of the /th component, J/mol Number of pores Water flux, kg-water/s m ... 

Interfdci l Composite Membra.nes, A method of making asymmetric membranes involving interfacial polymerization was developed in the 1960s. This technique was used to produce reverse osmosis membranes with dramatically improved salt rejections and water fluxes compared to those prepared by the Loeb-Sourirajan process (28). In the interfacial polymerization method, an aqueous solution of a reactive prepolymer, such as polyamine, is first deposited in the pores of a microporous support membrane, typically a polysulfone ultrafUtration membrane. The amine-loaded support is then immersed in a water-immiscible solvent solution containing a reactant, for example, a diacid chloride in hexane. The amine and acid chloride then react at the interface of the two solutions to form a densely cross-linked, extremely thin membrane layer. This preparation method is shown schematically in Figure 15. The first membrane made was based on polyethylenimine cross-linked with toluene-2,4-diisocyanate (28). The process was later refined at FilmTec Corporation (29,30) and at UOP (31) in the United States, and at Nitto (32) in Japan. 

Membranes made by interfacial polymerization have a dense, highly cross-linked interfacial polymer layer formed on the surface of the support membrane at the interface of the two solutions. A less cross-linked, more permeable hydrogel layer forms under this surface layer and fills the pores of the support membrane. Because the dense cross-linked polymer layer can only form at the interface, it is extremely thin, on the order of 0.1 p.m or less, and the permeation flux is high. Because the polymer is highly cross-linked, its selectivity is also high. The first reverse osmosis membranes made this way were 5—10 times less salt-permeable than the best membranes with comparable water fluxes made by other techniques. 

Global uranium flux calculations have typically been based on the following two assumptions (a) riverine-end member concentrations of dissolved uranium are relatively constant, and (b) no significant input or removal of uranium occurs in coastal environments. Other sources of uranium to the ocean may include mantle emanations, diffusion through pore waters of deep-sea sediments, leaching of river-borne sediments by seawater," and remobilization through reduction of a Fe-Mn carrier phase. However, there is still considerable debate... 

Cochran JK, Krishnaswami S (1980) Radium, thorium, uranium and °Pb in deep-sea sediments and sediment pore waters from the north equatorial Pacific. Am J Sci 280 849-889 Cochran JK, Masque P (2003) Short-lived U/Th-series radionuchdes in the ocean tracers for scavenging rates, export fluxes and particle dynamics. Rev Mineral Geochem 52 461-492 Colley S, Thomson J, Newton PP (1995) Detailed °Th, Th and °Pb fluxes recorded by the 1989/90 BQFS sediment trap time-series at 48°N, 20°W. Deep-Sea Res 42(6) 833-848... 

Because of the similarity of transport in biotilms and in stagnant sediments, information on the parameters that control the conductivity of the biofilm can be obtained from diagenetic models for contaminant diffusion in pore waters. Assuming that molecular diffusion is the dominant transport mechanism, and that instantaneous sorption equilibrium exists between dissolved and particle-bound solutes, the vertical flux ( ) through a stagnant sediment is given by (Berner, 1980)... 

Pasaogullari, Wang, and Chen [149] also presented a two-phase fuel cell model in which the effect of MPL was studied. They concluded that the water flux toward the anode is enhanced when the following MPL characfer-isfics are used smaller pore size, lower porosity, larger thickness, and higher hydrophobicity. It is important to note that similar conclusions have been presented in studies related to MPLs used in direct methanol fuel cells (see Section 4.3.3.5 for more information). 

Fuel cell operation entails (1) coupled proton migration and water fluxes in the PEM, (2) circulation and electrochemical conversion of electrons, protons, reactant gases, and water in CLs, and (3) gaseous diffusion and water exchange via vaporization/condensation in pores and channels of CLs, GDLs, and EEs. All components of an operating cell have to cooperate well in order to optimize the highly nonlinear interplay of these processes. It can be estimated that this optimization involves several 10s of parameters. 

L length of the pore (nm) m effective resistance to water flux Mp. molar mass of polymer (g mol i)... 

Mitrovic and Knezic (1979) also prepared ultrafiltration and reverse osmosis membranes by this technique. Their membranes were etched in 5% oxalic acid. The membranes had pores of the order of 100 nm, but only about 1.5 nm in the residual barrier layer (layer AB in Figure 2.15). The pores in the barrier layer were unstable in water and the permeability decreased during the experiments. Complete dehydration of alumina or phase transformation to a-alumina was necessary to stabilize the pore structure. The resulting membranes were found unsuitable for reverse osmosis but suitable for ultrafiltration after removing the barrier layer. Beside reverse osmosis and ultrafiltration measurements, some gas permeability data have also been reported on this type of membranes (Itaya et al. 1984). The water flux through a 50/im thick membrane is about 0.2mL/cm -h with a N2 flow about 6cmVcm -min-bar. The gas transport through the membrane was due to Knudsen diffusion mechanism, which is inversely proportional to the square root of molecular mass. 

In seawater, physical processes that transport water can also cause mass fluxes and, hence, are another means by which the salinity of seawater can be conservatively altered. The physical processes responsible for water movement within the ocean are turbulent mixing and water-mass advection. Turbulent mixing has been observed to follow Pick s first law and, hence, is also known as eddy diffusion. The rate at which solutes are transported by turbulent mixing and advection is usually much faster than that of molecular diffusion. Exceptions to this occur in locations where water motion is relatively slow, such as the pore waters of marine sediments. The effects of advection and turbulent mixing on the transport of chemicals are discussed further in Chapter 4. 

Diagrams of benthic sampiing equipment, (a) Pore water peepers used for collecting pore water in situ via moiecuiar diffusion across a 0.4- j,m polycarbonate membrane. These probes were 36 inches iong. Each of the six ports on the peeper held 6mL of equilibration fluid. The probes were deployed for 1 to 2.5 y to ensure equilibrium had been reached with the pore waters, (b) Benthic flux chamber. This chamber covered a bottom area of SSScm. Source From Aller, R. C., et al. (1998). Deep-Sea Research, 45, 133-165. 

Iron and manganese are initially supplied to the sediments as a component of the sinking flux of POM and particifiate oxyhydroxides. Remineralization of the POM releases iron and manganese to the pore waters. In the presence of O2, the solubilized metals are oxidized and precipitate as oxyhydroxides, thereby increasing the inorganic particifiate phase in the oxic layer. Continuing sedimentation eventually carries this particulate Mn and Fe below the oxic zone. 

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