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A two-phase, pore-scale reactive transport model for the kinetic interface- sensitive tracer
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  • Huhao Gao,
  • Alexandru Bogdan Tatomir,
  • Nikolaos K. Karadimitriou,
  • Holger Steeb,
  • Martin Sauter
Huhao Gao
University of Göttingen
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Alexandru Bogdan Tatomir
Uppsala University

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Nikolaos K. Karadimitriou
University of Stuttgart
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Holger Steeb
University of Stuttgart
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Martin Sauter
University of Göttingen
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Abstract

Previous laboratory experiments with KIS tracers have shown promising results with respect to the quantification of fluid-fluid interfacial area (IFA) for dynamic, two-phase flow conditions. However, pore-scale effects relevant for two-phase flow (e.g. the formation of hydrodynamically stagnant/ immobile zones) are not yet fully understood, and quantitative information in how far these effects influence the transport of the tracer reaction products is not yet available. Therefore, a pore-scale numerical model that includes two-phase, reactive flow and transport of the KIS tracer at the fluid-fluid interface is developed. We propose a new method to quantitatively analyze how the concentration of the KIS-tracer reaction product in the effluent is affected by the presence of immobile zones. The model employs the phase field method (PFM) and a new continuous mass transfer formulation, consistent with the PFM. We verify the model with the analytical solution of a reaction-diffusion process for two-phase flow conditions in a conceptual capillary tube. The applicability of the model is demonstrated in NAPL/water drainage scenarios in a conceptual porous domain, comparing the results in terms of the spatial distribution of the phases and the quantified macro-scale parameters (saturation, capillary pressure, IFA and solute concentration). Furthermore, we distinguish the mobile and immobile zones based on the local Péclet number, and the corresponding solute mass in these two zones is quantified. Finally, we show that the outflow concentration can be employed to selectively determine the mobile part of the IFA.
Jun 2021Published in Water Resources Research volume 57 issue 6. 10.1029/2020WR028572