Nonequilibrium partitioning caused by heterogeneous aquifers with complex non-aqueous phase entrapment configurations and high residual saturations can lead to inaccurate saturation estimates using a partitioning tracer test. This has been extensively investigated at the mesoscale or field scale. However, at a small scale (centimetres), the nonequilibrium partitioning can also be triggered by varying the local Péclet number even in homogeneous porous media. The effects of the nonequilibrium partitioning, induced by changes in the Péclet number, on moment and model-based analyses of breakthrough curve data are not yet fully understood. This study employs pore- and continuum-scale numerical simulations to investigate the nonequilibrium partitioning and transport of partitioning tracers at various Péclet numbers, residual saturations, and partitioning coefficients. The results suggest that the moment analysis is more accurate for the tests at small Péclet numbers, large distances between the injection and measurement locations, and small residual saturations. The characteristics of the breakthrough curves for the partitioning tracer strongly depend on the Péclet number. In non-equilibrium conditions, early concentration peaks, representing the fraction of the tracer that travels only in the aqueous phase, are observed. Moreover, the continuum-scale model-based analysis performs well for low partitioning coefficient conditions, with the partitioning mass transfer coefficient being linearly correlated to the Péclet number. In contrast, for high partitioning coefficients, the models are only matched by applying an effective partitioning coefficient, which depends on the residual saturation, the Péclet number, and the actual partitioning coefficient.
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