Project Details
Projekt
FOR 525: Analysis and Modelling of Diffusion/Dispersion-limited Reactions in Porous Media
Subject Area
Geosciences
Term
from 2004 to 2011
Project identifier
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 5470602
Reactions in porous media (e.g. the degradation of pollutants in soils and groundwater) strongly depend on the mixing of the reaction partners by diffusion and dispersion. Groundwater flows laminar with slow velocities - thus no turbulent mixing like in open streams will occur.
Goal of this Research Unit is to elucidate these mixing processes and the respective reactions at a high spatial and temporal resolution. Therefore new measurement techniques (e.g. fiber optical sensors) will be applied, which allow the determination of concentration gradients in porous media at high resolution which was not attained before. A profound understanding and the identification of relevant processes at the appropriate scale is a prerequisite for prediction of fate and transport of pollutants (e.g. for risk assessment studies in soils and sediments). Mass transfer coupled to reaction is also important in adjacent fields of research such as chemical engineering, e.g. water treatment especially in case of complex contaminations which often are encountered in groundwater.
The Research Unit investigates all relevant scales starting from diffusion and catalysis in micro-pores, to the dissolution kinetics of coal tars in the inter-particle pores of coarse grained porous media and finally the biodegradation in heterogeneous aquifers. A central element of all subprojects is the numerical simulation of reactive transport - in future these numerical models can be used for the prediction of fate and transport of pollutants in our environment.
Goal of this Research Unit is to elucidate these mixing processes and the respective reactions at a high spatial and temporal resolution. Therefore new measurement techniques (e.g. fiber optical sensors) will be applied, which allow the determination of concentration gradients in porous media at high resolution which was not attained before. A profound understanding and the identification of relevant processes at the appropriate scale is a prerequisite for prediction of fate and transport of pollutants (e.g. for risk assessment studies in soils and sediments). Mass transfer coupled to reaction is also important in adjacent fields of research such as chemical engineering, e.g. water treatment especially in case of complex contaminations which often are encountered in groundwater.
The Research Unit investigates all relevant scales starting from diffusion and catalysis in micro-pores, to the dissolution kinetics of coal tars in the inter-particle pores of coarse grained porous media and finally the biodegradation in heterogeneous aquifers. A central element of all subprojects is the numerical simulation of reactive transport - in future these numerical models can be used for the prediction of fate and transport of pollutants in our environment.
DFG Programme
Research Units
Projects
- Advanced numerical modeling of flow and reactive transport in porous systems (Applicant Bauer, Sebastian )
- Communication and services for the research group "Reactions in porous media" (Applicant Grathwohl, Peter )
- Diffusion/dispersion-limited mixing and reactions in saturated homogeneous and heterogeneous porous media (Applicant Grathwohl, Peter )
- Distribution of contaminant degraders and redox guilds and expression of degradation genes in stationary and non-stationary contaminant plumes (Applicant Lüders, Tillmann )
- Effects of mixing processes on microbial degradation and the distribution of microorganisms in stationary and non-stationary contaminant plumes (Applicant Griebler, Christian )
- Laterally and time resolved monitoring of concentration gradient changes (Applicant Gauglitz, Günter )
- Mass transfer, aging and reactions at NAPL interfaces in porous media (Applicant Haderlein, Stefan )
- Molecular Electron-Transfer in Systems Relevant to Geological Sciences: Transport and Electrochemical Reactions in Compartments (Applicant Speiser, Bernd )
Spokesperson
Professor Dr. Peter Grathwohl
