SFTEL: Pore Scale Micromodels
Quick Specs
- Offers custom design of micromodels, including images of core samples
- Optical imaging and chemical analysis
- Statistical image processing and analysis
Transverse Mixing-induced CaCO3 Precipitation
The pore-scale micromodel flow and transport lab is part of EMSL's Subsurface Flow and Transport laboratory (SFTL) with a focus on coupled (multiphase) flow, diffusion, and reactions processes at the microscopic scale (μm to cm) that affect the fate and transport of contaminants in the subsurface and geological sequestration of CO2.
Equipment Description and Operational Overview
The pore-scale micromodel laboratory features a variety of tools for scientific users, including:
- A HORIBA Jobin Yvon Raman spectroscopy system with 532- and 632-nm lasers combined with a Nikon Eclipse Ti epifluorescence microscope for mineral and microbe characterization and imaging
- A Nikon Eclipse TE2000 epifluorescence microscope equipped with a motorized stage and charge-coupled device (CCD) camera for bright field and fluorescent imaging of microscopic processes within small samples at 0.1-1.6 μm resolution
- A Nikon AZ100 multipurpose Zoom fluorescent microscope connected to a motorized stage and CCD camera for imaging larger samples at 0.8-20 μm resolution
- Two stainless steel overburden pressure cells with 3.6- and 10-cm diameter sapphire sight windows for studying supercritical CO2 migration and reaction at microscopic scales under pressure up to 10 MPa and temperature up to 50°C
- A Class 1000 clean room microfabrication facility with equipment (e.g., mask aligner, plasma dry etch, anodic bonding, etc.) that allows fabrication of microfluidic pore structures in silicon, PDMS (polydimethylsiloxane), glass, etc.
Diagram of Controlled-temperature, High-pressure System
All Related Publications Related Publications
- Experimental study of crossover from capillary to viscous fingering for supercritical CO2 - water displacement in a homogeneous pore network.
- Direct Numerical Simulation of Pore-Scale Flow in a Bead Pack: Comparison with Magnetic Resonance Imaging Observations.
- Role of collector alternating charged patches on transport of Cryptosporidium parvum oocyst in a patchwise charged heterogeneous micromodel.
- Electron Exchange and Conduction in Nontronite from First-Principles.
- Micromodel Investigations of CO2 Exsolution from Carbonated Water in Sedimentary Rocks.
Related Research Highlights
- EMSL’s Chinook provides a new angle for validating pore-scale flow simulations (Go with the flow)
- Micromodels redefine how bubbles characterize CO2 gas flow (Breaking down the bubbly)
- Scientists build realistic simulations for studying subsurface pollutants (Modeling the Micro Scale)
- Graphene-DNA biosensor selective, simple to create (Small Sensing)
