Biological processes in porous media: From the pore scale to the field

Wood, Brian D.; Ford, Roseanne M.

doi:10.1016/j.advwatres.2006.05.031

Cited by 8 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…Pore‐scale models are suitable for determining macro‐scale hydrodynamic parameters. In , the significance of biological processes on different scales is discussed.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Derivation and analysis of an effective model for biofilm growth in evolving porous media

Schulz

Knabner

2016

Math Methods in App Sciences

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The present article deals with the growth of biofilms produced by bacteria within a saturated porous medium. Starting from the pore-scale, the process is essentially described by attachment/detachment of mobile microorganisms to a solid surface and their ability to build biomass. The increase in biomass on the surface of the solid matrix changes the porosity and impedes flow through the pores. Using formal periodic homogenization, we derive an averaged model describing the process via Darcy's law and upscaled transport equations with effective coefficients provided by the evolving microstructure at the pore-scale. Assuming, that the underlying pore geometry may be described by a single parameter, for example, porosity, the level set equation locating the biofilm-liquid interface transforms into an ordinary differential equation (ODE) for the parameter. For such a setting, we state significant analytical and algebraic properties of these effective parameters. A further objective of this article is the analytical investigation of the resulting coupled PDE-ODE model. In a weak sense, unique solvability either global in time or at least up to a possible clogging phenomenon is shown. Copyright

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“…Pore‐scale models are suitable for determining macro‐scale hydrodynamic parameters. In , the significance of biological processes on different scales is discussed.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Derivation and analysis of an effective model for biofilm growth in evolving porous media

Schulz

Knabner

2016

Math Methods in App Sciences

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“…Kildsgaard and Engesgaard (2001) or Brovelli et al (2009) incorporated directly permeability formulations derived from micro-scale experiments in a macroscopic model. Other approaches consisted in deriving macroscopic laws and their associated effective permeability using upscaling techniques (Wood and Ford, 2007;Anthony et al, 2005;Golfier et al, 2009). Finally, in the frame of fixed biomass reactors modelling, recent available models allow the description of various physical processes occurring at the different scales using network models (Chen-Charpentier, 1999;Thullner et al, 2002) or hierarchical models.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Investigation of hydrodynamic/biomass growth coupling in a pilot scale granular bioreactor at low pore Reynolds number

Karrabi

Séchet

Morra

et al. 2011

Chemical Engineering Science

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International audienceThrough a coupled experimental/modelling approach, this study investigates the functioning of a fixed bed bioreactor of Biolite beads, inoculated with Pseudomonas putida, in order to biotreat phenol contaminated waters at low Reynolds number. In particular the coupling between water flow and biomass growth is studied through the evaluation of the relationship between bed permeability reduction and biomass content as well as hydrodynamic effects on biological kinetics. In term of bioclogging, our results showed a very sharp decrease of the relative bed permeability well correlated with measured biofilm growth (for relative permeability greater than 0.8) as well as a saturation of the bed permeability at low relative porosity. However, most of the models available in the literature failed to describe our observed results. Our work permitted to show a strongly heterogeneous longitudinal biofilm development along the bed and thus a strongly heterogeneous longitudinal occupation of the porosity that decreased rapidly at the bed entry. Furthermore, the observed measured porosity saturation was shown to correspond to a biomass distribution involving the existence of channelling, through a growth/detachment equilibrium, rather than a complete clogging of the bed reactor. Biofilm microstructure built at the pore scale by bacteria (e.g. via the modulation of EPS production) probably explains the observed permeability/porosity results in the early stage of bed bioclogging. However, the present experiments do not allow measuring such a microstructuration effect. Through the analysis of a simple 1D model written at the mesoscale, we showed that the closure laws accounting for the different biological kinetics (growth, detachment, etc.) are flow dependent, as they represent effective properties and complex biological processes averaged at the mesoscale. Given the low Reynolds number investigated in the present paper, this dependency appears not only controlled by mass transfer evolution but may also involve more complex biological regulation (biological response to physical chemical stresses). As a consequence, formulations that are strictly valid at the cell scale (e.g. Monod formulation) should be used with care if no averaging or upscaling methods are used. The main conclusion of the present work is that the knowledge of macroscopic laws, such as the permeability-porosity relationship is not sufficient to account for the coupling between hydrodynamics and biomass growth in porous media. As bacterial biofilms are formed of populations able to adapt their metabolism to their evolving microenvironment, and in particular to hydrodynamic conditions, it appears that the predictive character of such models could be largely improved if these closure laws were not postulated a priori but deduced either from upscaling techniques, or, as in this paper, from ad hoc experiments performed at the global scale

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“…Such models are typically used to determine macroscale parameters such as permeability and effective diffusivities. A discussion of biological processes in porous media and their significance on different scales is given by Wood and Ford [2007].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An upscaled model for biofilm growth in a thin strip

Noorden

Pop

Ebigbo

et al. 2010

Water Resources Research

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[1] The focus of this paper is the derivation of an effective model for biofilm growth in a porous medium and its effect on fluid flow. The starting point is a pore-scale model in which the local geometry of the pore is represented as a thin strip. The model accounts for changes in pore volume due to biomass accumulation. As the ratio of the width of the strip to its length approaches zero, we apply a formal limiting argument to derive a onedimensional upscaled (effective) model. For a better understanding of the terms and parameters involved in the equations derived here, we compare these equations to a wellknown core-scale model from the literature.

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Biological processes in porous media: From the pore scale to the field

Cited by 8 publications

References 24 publications

Derivation and analysis of an effective model for biofilm growth in evolving porous media

Derivation and analysis of an effective model for biofilm growth in evolving porous media

Investigation of hydrodynamic/biomass growth coupling in a pilot scale granular bioreactor at low pore Reynolds number

An upscaled model for biofilm growth in a thin strip

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