Effects of Pore Scale Mixing on Reactive Transport

University Of Illinois At Urbana-Champaign, Urbana IL

Investigators

Abstract

0121898 Valocchi The objective of the proposed research is to improve fundamental understanding of reactive transport with the ultimate application to remediation processes and the management and regulation of hazardous waste sites. A particular goal is to determine the effects of pore-scale mixing on reactive transport. The specific objectives of this research are to: (1) determine the effects of local velocity, pore geometry, and reaction rate constant on the extent of reaction in a homogenous pore network, (2) determine the effects of local velocity, pore geometry, and reaction rate constant on the extent of reaction in heterogeneous pore networks, and (3) develop relationships that allow the effects of pore scale-mixing on reactive transport to be accounted for at the continuum-scale. A combination of micromodel experiments and Lattice-Boltzmann (LB) simulations will be used to quantify these phenomena. The LB method is a kinetic theory-based numerical technique for solving hydrodynamic and diffusive transport problems in complex pore structures. ***