An anaerobic field injection experiment in a landfill leachate plume (Grindsted, Denmark): 2. Deduction of anaerobic (methanogenic, sulfate- and Fe(III)-reducing) redox conditions

Redox conditions may be environmental factors which affect the fate of the xenobiotic organic compounds. Therefore the redox conditions were characterized in an anaerobic, leachate-contaminated aquifer 15–60 m downgradient from the Grindsted Landfill, Denmark, where an field injection experiment was carried out.

Furthermore, the stability of the redox conditions spatially and over time were investigated, and different approaches to deduce the redox conditions were evaluated. The redox conditions were evaluated in a set of 20 sediment and groundwater samples taken from locations adjacent to the sediment samples.

Samples were investigated with respect to groundwater chemistry, including hydrogen and volatile fatty acids (VFAs) and sediment geochemistry, and bioassays were performed. The groundwater chemistry, including redox sensitive species for a large number of samples, varied over time during the experimental period of 924 days owing to variations in the leachate from the landfill.

However, no indication of change in the redox environment resulting from the field injection experiment or natural variation was observed in the individual sampling points. The methane, Fe(II), hydrogen, and VFA groundwater chemistry parameters strongly indicated a Fe(III)-reducing environment. This was further supported by the bioassays, although methane production and sulfate-reduction were also observed in a few samples close to the landfill.

On the basis of the calculated carbon conversion, Fe(III) was the dominant electron acceptor in the region of the aquifer, which was investigated. Because of the complexity of a landfill leachate plume, several redox processes may occur simultaneously, and an array of methods must be applied for redox characterization in such multicomponent systems.