CESI Consulting and the University of Bologna: Innovative Groundwater Tracing for Aquifer Remediation

CESI Consulting, the business unit of CESI specializing in environmental and technical consulting, is proud to have collaborated with Alma Mater Studiorum – University of Bologna (Department of Biological, Geological, and Environmental Sciences – BiGeA) on an advanced study of groundwater flow in a fractured and karst-contaminated aquifer. The research aimed to support the design of an effective remediation strategy.

This study leveraged cutting-edge technologies, including fluorescent dyes and silica-encapsulated DNA-labeled nanoparticles, which offer high sensitivity, non-toxicity, and exceptional detectability at ultra-low concentrations via qPCR. While these nanoparticles hold great potential as hydrogeological tracers, their real-world performance remains an area of ongoing research.

With its strong technical and environmental expertise, CESI Consulting played a key role in every phase of the project—from selecting the most suitable methodologies for this complex aquifer to designing the tests and executing field activities. These included pumping tests, groundwater sampling, and tracing groundwater flow lines.

The tracer tests conducted under constant low-flow pumping revealed significant differences in migration patterns between the two tracer types. This suggests that DNA nanotracers and fluorescent dyes move through distinct porosity systems, providing complementary insights into the aquifer’s structure and flow dynamics.

Reconstructing groundwater flow in highly heterogeneous, contaminated aquifers—especially fractured and karst systems—presents major challenges. These stem from both the intricate hydrogeological conditions and the technical and physicochemical interferences found in contaminated sites.

This study reaffirms CESI Consulting’s commitment to innovation and its ability to tackle complex environmental projects, where experimental advancements are essential both in the design phase and in field operations.