InterPore2025

Impact of Fluid Inertia on Mixing-Induced Mineral Precipitation: Pore-Scale Simulations and Microfluidic Experiments

21 May 2025, 12:35

15m

Oral Presentation (MS25) Advances in Carbon Mineralization: Unveiling Multiscale Geo-processes and Coupled Mechanisms MS25

Speaker

Woonghee Lee (University of Minnesota)

Description

Mineral precipitation induced by the pore-scale mixing of fluids with different reactants plays a vital role in various subsurface processes and applications, such as carbon mineralization, contaminant transport, and hydrogen storage. During in situ carbon mineralization, the mixing between injected carbonated water and ambient groundwater may lead to rapid mineralization. Most previous studies on mixing-induced mineral precipitation in porous media systems have focused on Stokes flow regimes, while recent studies have highlighted the importance of fluid inertia in these systems. Chen et al. (2024) show that fluid inertia enhances mixing in porous media by inducing recirculating flows [1], and Yang et al. (2024) demonstrate that fluid inertia controls mixing dynamics at channel intersections, leading to dramatic variations in precipitation patterns [2]. However, the role of fluid inertia in mixing-induced mineral precipitation in porous media and its impact on upscaled processes remain largely unexplored.

In this study, we combine microfluidic experiments and pore-scale numerical simulations to investigate how fluid inertia influences mixing-induced mineral precipitation and the upscaled relationship. We conduct mineral precipitation experiments in microfluidics and perform pore-scale reactive transport modeling using a micro-continuum approach. The model captures the spatiotemporal variation in mineral precipitation governed by nucleation and growth processes. The nucleation process is described by Classical Nucleation Theory, and the growth process is governed by the rate law of Transition State Theory. Simulation results at 1,000 pore volume injection (PVI) show that precipitation occurs along the narrow mixing interface in the low inertia regime at Re = 1 (Figure (a)). In contrast, in the high inertia regime at Re = 100, the emergence of recirculating flows across the porous media induces vigorous mixing, resulting in precipitation over a wider area (Figure (b)). Simulation results are analyzed to identify the upscaled reactive surface area-porosity-permeability relationship under different inertia regimes. Our study highlights the significance of inertial flows in pore-scale mineral precipitation and their implications for carbon mineralization and clogging.