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Three-Dimensional Visualization Reveals Pore-Scale Mechanisms of Colloid Transport and Retention in Two-Phase Flow

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Title: Three-Dimensional Visualization Reveals Pore-Scale Mechanisms of Colloid Transport and Retention in Two-Phase Flow
Authors: Ting Wu (106368), Zhibing Yang (9514091), Ran Hu (4989065), Yi-Feng Chen (368028)
Publication Year: 2023
Subject Terms: Biophysics, Genetics, Biotechnology, Evolutionary Biology, Ecology, Plant Biology, Biological Sciences not elsewhere classified, Chemical Sciences not elsewhere classified, Physical Sciences not elsewhere classified, wetting fluid topology, way coupling dynamics, overlooked clogging behavior, improved predictive models, pendular ring geometry, colloid clogging behavior, phase flow based, high flow rate, solid grain size, phase flow colloids, phase flow, flow rate, grain size, pendular rings, flow paths, grain packings, well understood, uniformly distributed, theoretical analysis, strong dependence, scale mechanisms
Description: Colloids are ubiquitous in the natural environment, playing an important role in facilitating the transport of absorbed contaminants. However, due to the complexities arising from two-phase flow and difficulties in three-dimensional observations, the detailed mechanisms of colloid transport and retention under two-phase flow are still not well understood. In this work, we visualize the colloid transport and retention during immiscible two-phase flow based on confocal microscopy. We find that the colloid transport and retention behaviors depend strongly on the flow rate and pore/grain size. At low levels of saturation (high flow rate) with the wetting liquid mainly present as pendular rings, the colloids can aggregate at the liquid filaments in small-grain packings and are uniformly distributed in large-grain packings. Through theoretical analysis of the pendular ring geometry, we elucidate the mechanism responsible for the strong dependence of colloid clogging behavior on solid grain size. Our results further demonstrate that even at dilute concentrations, colloids can alter the flow paths and the wetting fluid topology, suggesting a strong two-way coupling dynamics between immiscible two-phase flow and colloid transport and calling for improved predictive models to incorporate the overlooked clogging behavior.
Document Type: article in journal/newspaper
Language: unknown
Relation: https://figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/Three-Dimensional_Visualization_Reveals_Pore-Scale_Mechanisms_of_Colloid_Transport_and_Retention_in_Two-Phase_Flow/21822294
DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.2c08757.s001
Availability: https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.2c08757.s001
Rights: CC BY-NC 4.0
Accession Number: edsbas.EEC29B09
Database: BASE
Description
Abstract:Colloids are ubiquitous in the natural environment, playing an important role in facilitating the transport of absorbed contaminants. However, due to the complexities arising from two-phase flow and difficulties in three-dimensional observations, the detailed mechanisms of colloid transport and retention under two-phase flow are still not well understood. In this work, we visualize the colloid transport and retention during immiscible two-phase flow based on confocal microscopy. We find that the colloid transport and retention behaviors depend strongly on the flow rate and pore/grain size. At low levels of saturation (high flow rate) with the wetting liquid mainly present as pendular rings, the colloids can aggregate at the liquid filaments in small-grain packings and are uniformly distributed in large-grain packings. Through theoretical analysis of the pendular ring geometry, we elucidate the mechanism responsible for the strong dependence of colloid clogging behavior on solid grain size. Our results further demonstrate that even at dilute concentrations, colloids can alter the flow paths and the wetting fluid topology, suggesting a strong two-way coupling dynamics between immiscible two-phase flow and colloid transport and calling for improved predictive models to incorporate the overlooked clogging behavior.
DOI:10.1021/acs.est.2c08757.s001