ISSN: 1945-7545
CODEN: GTJODJ
Page Count: 9

Oxygen Diffusion Coefficient of Soils at High Degrees of Saturation

Shelp Lin, M
Postdoctoral fellow and associate professor, The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario

Yanful, EK
Postdoctoral fellow and associate professor, The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario

(Received 23 November 1998; accepted 27 September 1999)

Abstract

The oxygen diffusion coefficient is an essential parameter for design of soil covers over mine waste. This study presents a method for measuring the oxygen diffusion coefficient of soils at high degrees of saturation. The method eliminates measurement errors caused by soil microbial activity, high humidity, and stagnant air in laboratory diffusion cells. Results show that microbial activity is an important factor that causes errors in O₂ measurements. Sterilization of soil, utilization of a silica gel-membrane system with oxygen sensors, and minimal stirring in the cell headspace greatly reduce the variability in O₂ diffusion coefficient measurements. The variations in estimated O₂ diffusion coefficients for the same soil at the same degree of saturation were ±31% about the mean for clayey soil samples and ±10% about the mean for silty soil samples.

Keywords:
acid rock drainage, oxygen diffusion coefficient, galvanic oxygen electrode, moisture effect, microbial O2 consumption, autoclaving

Paper ID: GTJ11121J
DOI: 10.1520/GTJ11121J
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