Introduction
This project was led by Emma Lindborg (DHI Sweden) and Jan-Olof Selroos (KTH) and aimed at applying a Lagrangian reactive transport approach to calculate geochemical reactions and products based on integrated MIKE SHE hydrological models.
Groundwater flow paths expressed as individual streamlines for each modelled particle were obtained with MIKE SHE. Geochemical modelling (PhreeqC) was then applied, using specific particle travel times as main driver for kinetic reactivity (Malmström et al., 2004). This approach proved more computationally friendly than the classic Eulerian approach (Trinchero et al., 2014), which solves both flow and reactive transport over the entire 3D-domain, and will therefore be tested in an actual mining setting (Malmberget).
DHI's role
Both industrial and academic partners are involved in the project. DHI Sweden provides the modelling tools and expertise in integrated hydrological modelling for mining applications and is responsible for the bulk of the project management and project work. KTH provides the expertise in application of the Lagrangian approach, LKAB the in-situ geochemical knowledge of the mining site, and Amphos21 the knowledge of linking travel times obtained from particle tracking simulations with geochemical modelling.
Partners
DHI Sweden, KTH, LKAB, and Amphos21.
Funding
This project is funded by LKAB.
Project time
Aug. 2021 - May 2022.
Contact person
Emma Lindborg
MIKE SHE model output: Visualization of particle trajectories and travel times at site Malmberget.
References
Malmström, M. E., Destouni, G., Martinet, P. (2004). Modeling expected solute concentration in randomly heterogeneous flow systems with multicomponent reactions. Environmental Science and Technology, 38, 2673-2679.
Trinchero, P., Molinero, J., Román-Ross, G., Berglund, S., Selroos, J-O. (2014). FASTREACT – An efficient numerical framework for the solution of reactive transport problems. Applied Geochemistry, 49, 159-167.