Model analysis of the influence of gas diffusivity in soil on CO and H₂ uptake

Abstract

CO and H₂ uptake by soil was studied as a diffusion process. A diffusion model was used to determine how the surface fluxes (net deposition velocities) were controlled by in-situ microbial uptake rates and soil gas diffusivity calculated from the 3-phase system (solid, liquid, gas) in the soil. Analytical solutions of the diffusion model assuming vertical uniformity of soil properties showed that physical properties such as air-filled porosity and soil gas diffusivity were more important in the uptake process than in the emission process. To incorporate the distribution of in-situ microbial uptake, we used a 2-layer model incorporating “a microbiologically inactive layer and an active layer” as suggested from experimental results. By numerical simulation using the 2-layer model, we estimated the effect of several factors on deposition velocities. The variations in soil gas diffusivity due to physical properties, i.e., soil moisture and air-filled porosity, as well as to the depth of the inactive layer and in-situ microbial uptake, were found to be important in controlling deposition velocities. This result shows that the diffusion process in soil is critically important for CO and H₂ uptake by soil, at least in soils with higher in-situ uptake rates and/or with large variation in soil moisture. Similar uptake rates and the difference in deposition velocity between CO and H₂ may be attributable to differences in CO and H₂ molecular diffusivity. The inactive layer is resistant to diffusion and creates uptake limits in CO and H₂ by soil. The coupling of high temperature and a thick inactive layer, common in arid soils, markedly lowers net CO deposition velocity. The temperature for maximum uptake of CO changes with depth of the inactive layer.