Prediction of 1,2,4-trichlorobenzene natural attenuation in groundwater at a landfill in Kaifeng, China

1,2,4-trichlorobenzene (1,2,4-TCB) is one of the most common pollutants in landfill leachate that impacts shallow drinking groundwater quality; accordingly, the transport mechanism and capacity for remediation of this compound are important to the management of local water resource. In this study, a series of indoor experiments and analytical predictions revealed that the transportation of 1,2,4-TCB in groundwater is similar in medium sand and fine sand. Specifically, the peak time increases with distance between monitoring points and the source point, but the peak relative concentrations decrease with distance, indicating that the concentration of 1,2,4-TCB in groundwater is controlled by adsorption and biodegradation. In addition, transportation of water in a fine sand column was lower than that in a medium sand column; therefore, the adsorption and biodegradation of 1,2,4-TCB in groundwater was lower in the medium sand column. These findings demonstrate that 1,2,4-TCB in groundwater could be removed by natural degradation after about 5 years, but that other methods (permeable reactive barriers, air sparging or biosparging) should be applied in the field to shorten the remediation period and enhance water supply safety around landfill.