Model compartment used for sampling from groundwater, aquifers, sediments and surface waters, permits repeated sampling over protracted interval from beds packed with diverse materials

摘要

A model compartment comprising hydrophilic and/or lyophilic sorbents; solids or dissolved direct- or indirect redox-sensitive minerals and carbon-containing materials; oxidants and/or reductants; xenobiotic materials in fluid- and/or stationary phases, and living and/or dead microbiological substances in fluid and/or stationary phase, where one of the components is arranged as such, and/or is immobilized in a selected arrangement, is new. A model compartment comprises one of the following: hydrophilic and/or lyophilic sorbents; solids or dissolved direct- or indirect redox-sensitive minerals and carbon-containing materials; oxidants and/or reductants; xenobiotic materials in fluid- and/or stationary phases, and living and/or dead microbiological substances in fluid and/or stationary phase, where at least one of the components is arranged as such, and/or is immobilized in a selected arrangement. Repeated sampling is extended over an interval of 1 hour to 1 year. The compartment takes the form of two or more hydraulically-conductive enclosed beds of differing composition. The xenobiotic, living and/or dead material are either provided previously in the model compartment and/or they enrich the compartments under investigation during the sampling interval. The model compartment includes at least one fixed bed, which is brought into contact with a measured quantity of fluid during the sampling interval. Details are provided of the widely-ranging contents, listing, e.g. oxides, silicates, other compounds and polymers, minerals, forms of glass, microfibers, ceramics, cellulosics, plastics, and other diverse forms. An independent claim is also included for investigating groundwater aquifer compartments using corresponding model compartments.