Speaker
Description
Fungi play a critical role in various environmental processes, such as consuming rocks and contaminants to create nutrients, regulating carbon cycles through decomposition and sequestration, contributing to soil formation, and supporting plant growth. These processes often involve complex interactions between multiple fluid and mineral phases in porous media. However, the mechanisms by which fungi regulate fluid flow and fluid-mineral interactions remain poorly understood, which limits our ability to predict and harness these fungal-mediated processes. The inherent complexity and opacity of porous media further obscure our understanding of how fungi influence fluid flow and mineral distribution.
In this study, we present striking findings that visualize fungi actively modulating multiphase flow and fluid-mineral interactions. Our pore-scale visualizations reveal that filamentous fungi can induce multiphase flow and mobilize trapped fluid phases in porous media through localized clogging and hyphal-induced pore invasion. This process enhances the oil-water interfacial area and redistributes fluid phases. Additionally, fungi demonstrate the ability to control mineral dissolution and precipitation. These results uncover novel mechanisms by which filamentous fungi influence fluid dynamics and mineral distribution in porous environments. This research offers valuable insights for harnessing fungal processes to enhance critical applications, including bioremediation and carbon sequestration.
| Country | United States |
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