Enhanced in-situ biodenitrification (EIB) is a potential technology for remediating nitrate-polluted groundwater. EIB aims to create optimal biodenitrification conditions through the addition of carbon sources, enabling the autochthonous microbial community to degrade nitrate via different redox pathways. Biogeochemical numerical models are useful tools for predicting and designing such biodenitrification applications. Compound-specific stable isotope analysis (CSIA) is another valuable method for determining the degree of nitrate transformation. Therefore, incorporating isotope fractionation in biogeochemical models combines the two tools and is a key step in the development of reactive transport models of EIB under field conditions. In this work, we developed such an integrated model using the Phreeqc code and calibrated the model with batch scale experimental data using either ethanol or glucose as external carbon sources. The model included the following: microbiological processes —exogenous and endogenous nitrate respiration coupled to microbial growth and decay; geochemical processes —precipitation or dissolution of calcite; and isotopic fractionation —δ15N-NO3−, δ18O-NO3−, and δ13C-DIC, incorporating the full δ13C isotope geochemistry involved in EIB. The modeled results fit well with the hydrochemical and isotopic experimental data. The model also incorporated nitrite accumulation observed during the glucose experiment. The biogeochemical model indicates that, depending on the added carbon source, calcite precipitates (using ethanol) or dissolves (using glucose). In both cases, changes in hydraulic conductivity can be induced for actual and long-term EIB applications. The incorporation of isotope fractionation in the model better enables to account for other natural attenuation processes, such as dilution and dispersion, in EIB applications at field scale. Both calibrated enrichment factors (+ 8‰ for ethanol and + 17‰ for glucose) suggest that an inverse fractionation effect occurred (in which the heavy isotope reacts faster than the light isotope) during their oxidation. ... Read more

Since mesoporous materials can be prepared by combining the sol-gel chemistry and the structuring effect of surfactants, they have attracted attention for application in various high technology fields. The present work deals with the analyses of the mechanisms involved in the formation of SiO₂ and TiO₂ highly organised 2D-hexagonal meso-structured films using Brij 58 as surfactant. The preparation of such films by dip-coating involves rapid evaporation which makes the different steps difficult to control. Simultaneous in-situ SAXS (synchrotron) and interferometry analyses have been performed to get a first understanding of the self-assembly process. SiO₂ and TiO₂ materials have a different chemical reactivity (kinetics and coordination aspects). However, we show that the mechanisms involved during dip-coating are quite similar : The self-assembly leading to the organised phase takes place at a final stage of the drying process, involves the formation of a disorganised intermediate phase and depends also on the presence of micellar interfaces in addition to film/air and film/substrate interfaces. ... Read more