Adsorption and transformation of ammonium ion in a loose-pore geothermal reservoir: Batch and column experiments

Adsorption kinetics and transformation process of ammonium ion (NH4+) were investigated to advance the understanding of N cycle in a low-temperature loose-pore geothermal reservoir. Firstly, batch experiments were performed in order to determine the sorption capacity and the kinetic mechanism of NH4+ onto a loose-pore geothermal reservoir matrix. Then column experiments were carried out at temperatures from 20 °C to 60 °C in order to determine the transport parameters and transformation mechanism of NH4+ in the studied matrix. The results showed that the adsorption process of NH4+ onto the porous media well followed the pseudo-second-order model. No obvious variation of hydrodynamic dispersion coefficient (D) and retardation factor (R) was observed at different transport distances at a Darcy's flux of 2.27 cm/h, at which nitrification could be neglected. The simulated D obtained by the CDE model in CXTFIT2.1 increased with temperature while R decreased with temperature, indicating that the adsorption capacity of NH4+ onto the matrix decreased with the increasing of temperature. When the Darcy's flux was decreased to 0.014 cm/h, only a little part of NH4+ could be transformed to nitrate, suggesting that low density of nitrifiers existed in the simulated loose-pore geothermal reservoir. Although nitrification rate increased with temperature in the range of 20 °C to 60 °C, it was extremely low and no accumulation of nitrite was observed under the simulated low-temperature geothermal conditions without addition of biomass and oxygen.