Computational Microfluidics for Geosciences

Soulaine, Cyprien; Maes, Julien; Roman, Sophie

doi:10.3389/frwa.2021.643714

Cited by 39 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 157 publications

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“…This additional Darcy-like term accounts for the drag force exerted on the liquid by the upper and lower plates of the reference experiment (Jiménez-Martínez et al 2017). h is the permeability and can be approximated as h ∼ h 2 ∕12 (Ferrari et al 2015;Soulaine et al 2021).…”

Section: Fluid Flow Modelingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mixing Controlled Adsorption at the Liquid-Solid Interfaces in Unsaturated Porous Media

Markale

Velásquez-Parra

Alcolea³

et al. 2022

Transp Porous Med

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The unsaturated zone, located between the soil surface and the phreatic level, plays an important role in defining the fate of any substance entering the subsoil. In addition to the processes of flow and transport taking place in the liquid phase, surface reactions such as adsorption to the solid phase may occur and increase the residence time of the substance entering the system. In this study, we aim to understand the pore-scale mechanisms that control adsorption in unsaturated systems. We combine 2D pore-scale experimental images with numerical simulations to analyze flow, transport, and adsorption under different liquid saturation degrees. We demonstrate the role of mixing on adsorption at the liquid-solid interfaces by analyzing the deformation in time of a pulse-injected surfactant. We also analyze the impact of the isotherm functional shape and the inclusion of the liquid-gas interfaces as adsorption sites on this surface reaction. The enhancement of mixing as saturation decreases is accompanied by a reduction in the amount of adsorbed mass, located mainly along preferential flow paths, where the solute is primarily transported. For the same isotherm, a nonlinear behavior of adsorption as a function of liquid saturation has been observed. This is explained by the nonlinear variation of the volume fraction of liquid behaving as preferential path or stagnation zone as liquid saturation decreases, despite the linear decrease in the surface area of solids accessible for adsorption.

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Section: Fluid Flow Modelingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mixing Controlled Adsorption at the Liquid-Solid Interfaces in Unsaturated Porous Media

Markale

Velásquez-Parra

Alcolea³

et al. 2022

Transp Porous Med

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“…Computational methods for solving the mathematical model formed by Eqs. ( 8)-( 15) are challenged by the moving boundary due to the dissolution or precipitation of solid minerals [133]. Many approaches have been proposed to track the fluidrock interface along with surface reactions.…”

Section: Numerical Enginesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pore-Scale Imaging and Modelling of Reactive Flow in Evolving Porous Media: Tracking the Dynamics of the Fluid–Rock Interface

Noiriel

Soulaine

2021

Transp Porous Med

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Fluid-mineral and fluid-rock interfaces are key parameters controlling the reactivity and fate of fluids in reservoir rocks and aquifers. The interface dynamics through space and time results from complex processes involving a tight coupling between chemical reactions and transport of species as well as a strong dependence on the physical, chemical, mineralogical and structural properties of the reacting solid phases. In this article, we review the recent advances in pore-scale imaging and reactive flow modelling applied to interface dynamics. Digital rocks derived from time-lapse X-ray micro-tomography imaging gives unprecedented opportunity to track the interface evolution during reactive flow experiments in porous or fractured media, and evaluate locally mineral reactivity. The recent improvements in porescale reactive transport modelling allow for a fine description of flow and transport that integrates moving fluid-mineral interfaces inherent to chemical reactions. Combined with three-dimensional digital images, pore-scale reactive transport modelling complements and augments laboratory experiments. The most advanced multi-scale models integrate sub-voxel porosity and processes which relate to imaging instrument resolution and improve upscaling possibilities. Two example applications based on the solver porousMedia4Foam illustrate the dynamics of the interface for different transport regimes (i.e., diffusive-to advective-dominant) and rock matrix properties (i.e., permeable versus impermeable, and homogeneous versus polymineralic). These parameters affect both the interface roughness and its geometry evolution, from sharp front to smeared (i.e., diffuse) interface. The paper concludes by discussing the challenges associated with precipitation processes in porous media, rock texture and composition (i.e., physical and mineralogical heterogeneity), and upscaling to larger scales.

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“…Pore-network models (PNMs) are a computationally efficient option for simulating the reactive transport processes under two-phase flow conditions, but require simplifications of the geometric solid-fluid interface and assumptions about uniform aqueous concentrations within a pore (Xiong et al, 2016). Lattice Boltzmann Methods (Chen et al, 2013(Chen et al, , 2015 and direct numerical simulations (DNS) (Haroun et al, 2010b;Marschall et al, 2012;Maes and Soulaine, 2018;Soulaine et al, 2018Soulaine et al, , 2021 provide alternatives that relax these restrictions. The LBM was able to reproduce experimental observations on wettability alteration during Low Salinity Water Flooding (Akai et al, 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Effect of Pore-Scale Two-Phase Flow on Mineral Reaction Rates

Deng

Molins

2022

Front. Water

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In various natural and engineered systems, mineral–fluid interactions take place in the presence of multiple fluid phases. While there is evidence that the interplay between multiphase flow processes and reactions controls the evolution of these systems, investigation of the dynamics that shape this interplay at the pore scale has received little attention. Specifically, continuum scale models rarely consider the effect of multiphase flow parameters on mineral reaction rates or apply simple corrections as a function of the reactive surface area or saturation of the aqueous phase, without developing a mechanistic understanding of the pore-scale dynamics. In this study, we developed a framework that couples the two-phase flow simulator of OpenFOAM (open field operation and manipulation) with the geochemical reaction capability of CrunchTope to examine pore-scale dynamics of two phase flow and their impacts on mineral reaction rates. For our investigations, flat 2D channels and single sine wave channels were used to represent smooth and rough geometries. Calcite dissolution in these channels was quantified with single phase flow and two phase flow at a range of velocities. We observed that the bulk calcite dissolution rates were not only affected by the loss of reactive surface area as it becomes occupied by the non-reactive non-aqueous phase, but also largely influenced by the changes in local velocity profiles, e.g., recirculation zones, due to the presence of the non-aqueous phase. The extent of the changes in reaction rates in the two-phase systems compared to the corresponding single phase system is dependent on the flow rate (i.e., capillary number) and channel geometry, and follows a non-monotonic relationship with respect to aqueous saturation. The pore-scale simulation results highlight the importance of interfacial dynamics in controlling mineral reactions and can be used to better constrain reaction rate descriptions in multiphase continuum scale models. These results also emphasize the need for experimental studies that underpin the development of mechanistic models for multiphase flow in reactive systems.

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Computational Microfluidics for Geosciences

Cited by 39 publications

References 157 publications

Mixing Controlled Adsorption at the Liquid-Solid Interfaces in Unsaturated Porous Media

Mixing Controlled Adsorption at the Liquid-Solid Interfaces in Unsaturated Porous Media

Pore-Scale Imaging and Modelling of Reactive Flow in Evolving Porous Media: Tracking the Dynamics of the Fluid–Rock Interface

The Effect of Pore-Scale Two-Phase Flow on Mineral Reaction Rates

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