The Influence of the Flow-Pattern on Column Leaching Experiments: Formulation and Measurement by Radiotracer

The leaching of microconstituents from granular solid wastes is often studied by column experiments. The underlying assumption is that the flow is of the one-compartment or “backmix” type. The influence of small deviations from this ideal situation on the outcome of the leaching experiment depends slightly on the specific mass-transfer function of the trace involved. The deviation itself may be measured by a simple separate radiotracer experiment.